The nation's homelessness czar -- didn't know we had one, did you? -- visited L.A. on Friday, met with Mayor Villaraigosa and proclaimed our Skid Row the worst in the country. Then he skipped town. Thanks, guy.
Here's the scoop from the Daily News:
Los Angeles has the worst homeless problem in the country, the nation's homelessness czar declared Friday, citing the dense squalor of Skid Row and sheer number of people living on local streets.
In an appearance at City Hall after meeting with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, White House official Phil Mangano said the magnitude of the city's woes means any positive change will have national reverberations.
"Los Angeles can be a tipping point in our country in terms of this issue," said Mangano, the executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
While no specific proposals or funding announcements emerged from the pair's meeting, Villaraigosa said they had a productive discussion that generated valuable ideas.
Among other topics, the officials contemplated how to streamline and improve the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the joint city-county agency that distributes funds to service providers and has had serious financial problems.
"It's broken and we need to fix it," Villaraigosa said.
The mayor said one potential remedy is creating a single accountable "czar" to oversee the problem on a regional basis.
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