Welcome to the May edition of The Road Home. This edition of our newsletter features articles on the open letter addressed to President Joe Biden and HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, Universal Housing Application, new executive hires at LAHSA, sexual assault awareness month, and more. For more frequent updates, check out our blog on Medium, also called The Road Home, here.
An open letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge
President Joe Biden (left) and HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge (right)
Use the link below to read the open letter, organized by LAHSA and signed by more than 20 regional public homeless agencies, that was transmitted to the United States Domestic Policy Council and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on April 6, 2021.
LAHSA and Its Partners Announce the Universal Housing Application
The public housing application process has been known to be a long and arduous one, with that process alone can take a month or more to complete. As a result, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA), and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) worked together to create the Universal Housing Application (UHA), which will modernize the housing application process for people experiencing homelessness and remove barriers from the path towards permanent housing and reversing racial disparities in housing access.

The UHA consolidates 15 different paper housing applications into one digital application. By using it, LAHSA, HACLA, and LACDA — through Housing Central Command — can shave up to 30 days off the application process that matches people experiencing homelessness with suitable permanent housing across Los Angeles County.
LAHSA Welcomes Kristina Dixon
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority selected Kristina M. Dixon to become its new Chief Financial Officer. Kristina replaces Tony Creed, who served as LAHSA’s CFO for a little under three years. Kristina started serving in her new role on Monday, May 3.

After guiding the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority through a time that saw its funding expand from $75 million to $400 million, Kristina Dixon moved on from serving as the agency’s Finance Director to become Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Nonprofit Finance Fund.

After spending a year at NFF, Kristina is bringing this experience back to LAHSA as she takes up the role of chief financial officer for the agency.
Kristina considers herself an activist CFO who brings a unique perspective as a Black woman in finance into every organization she’s worked with, orienting around a framework centering policies, procedures, and processes in equity that align with strategy, not just with the business.
Data Spotlight: Progress Since March 2020
April 2021: Sexual Assault Awareness Month
This April, we celebrated 20 years of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). The purpose of SAAM is to build awareness, as well as focus on prevention efforts to end sexual harassment, sexual abuse, sexual assault, and all forms of sexual violence.

A significant intersection to address is sexual violence and homelessness. LAHSA encourages the collaboration of victim service providers and homeless service providers. The goal is to link homeless service providers with agencies tailoring their resources to the needs of survivors while dually accessing housing resources for a co-case management approach.

Along with these efforts, the Domestic Violence Regional Coordinators (DVRCs) are designated to the various service planning areas of LA County and provide support to survivors of domestic/intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and/or human trafficking. The DVRCs serve as a vital resource to survivors and the Coordinated Entry System (CES) as they continue their efforts to develop survivor systems alignment. Via this link, you can view the updated DVRC contact list for assistance or possible collaboration.