Metro encourages public to provide feedback at LA County Homeless Initiative listening sessions

Beginning this Monday (Aug. 19), the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative is hosting community listening sessions to gather feedback and strengthen strategies for addressing and preventing homelessness.

[Link]We highly encourage our riders and stakeholders to listen and participate! Please see the flyers above for times and dates of the sessions, links to the meetings and how to attend either virtually or in-person.

The map at right shows the county's Service Planning Areas (SPA) if you want to know which one where you reside, work or visit.

Feedback from the community will help the county shape funding recommendations for homeless services and housing in the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year.

Your input is crucial in conveying how homelessness is impacting both the Metro system and the broader community that we serve. In particular, here are a few points we'd like everyone to consider:

•Homelessness on Metro: Many people experiencing homelessness are seeking shelter on Metro buses, trains and stations. That impacts the condition of our system, poses safety challenges and affects customers using the system for its intended purpose, which is getting around town.

•Public Perception: although everyone has the right to use our system, the reality is that the presence of so many people sheltering on our system is deterring people from using our buses and trains.

•Need for Housing Resources: We would like to see L.A. County and other local cities across our region increase shelters and affordable housing to give the unhoused somewhere to live besides the streets.

•On-Site Services: We would like to see L.A. Countyprovide more homeless services, mental health services and substance abuse services directly on the Metro system - in particular at end-of-line rail stations where unhoused riders often enter or exit our system.

The listening sessions are designed to gather input from various stakeholders - and everyone is welcome to join. Sessions will primarily be held virtually via Zoom, with one in-person session for Spanish speakers.

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