Updated
Updated · City Watch · Aug 11
LA Strips Nithya Raman of Homelessness Chair After $62.6 Million Program Housed 3 Households
Updated
Updated · City Watch · Aug 11

LA Strips Nithya Raman of Homelessness Chair After $62.6 Million Program Housed 3 Households

3 articles · Updated · City Watch · Aug 11

Summary

  • Los Angeles removed Nithya Raman from the homelessness chairmanship after splitting housing and homelessness into separate committees, putting her record at the center of her mayoral bid.
  • City records cited in the report show a $62.6 million initiative she championed aimed to move about 2,000 people toward permanent housing, yet only three households had been permanently housed by June 25.
  • Her committee also reportedly canceled every scheduled meeting during a roughly five-week stretch in April and May, while more than 130 matters piled up.
  • A March 2024 proposal to expand city control over homelessness programs then waited 316 days for committee consideration, underscoring broader complaints about slow oversight and accountability at City Hall and LAHSA.
  • Raman can point to a roughly 49% drop in unsheltered homelessness in her own district, but the fight over her removal has widened into a citywide test of management as she campaigns against Mayor Karen Bass.

Insights

Can separating housing and homelessness into isolated panels truly fix LA's streets, or will it create deeper bureaucratic gridlock?
How will newly revealed data flaws in shelter bed counts impact Los Angeles' billion-dollar battle against the growing homelessness crisis?