After the financial collapse of a leading homeless housing provider in Los Angeles amid reports of unsafe living conditions, drug overdoses, and violence in its buildings, homeless advocates are questioning whether California’s “housing first” and “harm-reduction” approaches are alleviating or aggravating the intertwining crises of homelessness and drug addiction.
The Skid Row Housing Trust, a nonprofit providing nearly 2,000 units of permanent housing across 29 buildings, faced an annual budget deficit of $14 million. Through the city’s intervention, all those buildings were placed under a receivership by court order April 7 under Mark Adams, president of California Receivership Group, for repairs.
Under the receivership, Adams is responsible for repairing 500 units, per the legal requirement that property owners must address health or safety code violations. The California Receivership Group is an institution that takes over reparation and maintenance for “problem properties where traditional strategies have been unsuccessful,” according to its website….