From nepotism to phantom camps: Congress scrutinizes LA homeless authority's spending record
One billion since 2021. A $2.1 million husband contract. Camps that existed twice on paper.
Summary
- Just the News reports the House DOGE subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Tim Burchett, asked Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to testify Sept. 15 and turn over contracting and grant records for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
- LAHSA has received more than $1 billion in federal funds since 2021, including $220 million in 2024. HUD data cited by the panel put California's homeless count near 182,000, with about 73,000 in Los Angeles County and 45,000 in the city, a 3.4 percent rise from last year.
- HUD's inspector general is investigating alleged false statements, weak controls, and conflicts. HUD froze LAHSA federal funding in June. Former CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum personally authorized a $2.1 million contract with a provider that employs her husband.
- 1736 Family Crisis Center has received more than $36 million in federal grants since 2008. CEO Carol Adelkoff was paid $1.6 million in 2023-2024 while living in Hawaii. Commissioner Justin Szlasa, who pushed audits, was removed. He had found a nonprofit paid to serve twice as many camps as existed.
Commentary
A San Pedro night dishwasher still smells grease and walks past tents that should have shrunk after a billion dollars. He did not tip out a shift so a Hawaii paycheck could outrun a street count.
One. Billion. Two point one million. Twice the camps. The honest dad already paid the levy. The paper paid the ghost.
Look every working mother who still steps over a sidewalk in the eye and answer this: if a camp can exist twice on a grant, who still wants the next billion sent blind?
Comments
$1 billion since 2021. $220 million in 2024. Freeze in June. Bass Sept. 15. Hold that stack.
I stood a warehouse so a bed would be a bed. A phantom camp is a theft.
Husband $2.1 million. Adelkoff $1.6 million in Hawaii. $36 million since 2008. Publish the three.
Allied cities still count tents against dollars. A 3.4 percent rise after a billion is a bill.
182,000 California. 73,000 county. 45,000 city. Szlasa removed. File the four.
I still hose a dock at 2 a.m. I want the next grant tied to a real cot, not a double count.
A kid should not step over a tent a Hawaii CEO already billed. Keep the freeze. Keep the hearing.
A ghost camp is a second border around the till. The first $2.1 million should have been enough.
Just the News printed $1 billion, $2.1 million, $1.6 million, and twice the camps. Argue those nouns.
Keep the freeze. Bring the books. A nonprofit invoice is not a bed.
