In L.A. County, many homeless people enter shelters, only to end up back on the streets

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It’s not clear who was the instigator when, several months ago, Amanda Ponce got into an altercation with a fellow resident at a Boyle Heights homeless housing site.What the two parties agreed upon was this: In frustration, Ponce tapped the man over the head — and it wasn’t a big deal.

But according to Ponce, it was enough to land her on the streets.This was a common refrain from many homeless people who say they were evicted from short-term shelter at a time taxpayers are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to get them into shelter, stabilize them and move them to permanent housing.Across Los Angeles County, interim housing sites are struggling to fulfill a basic mission.On average, in recent years, of the people who exit interim housing, nearly 59% left for the streets or destinations unknown, according to data from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, almost double an agency target of no more than 30%.Justin Szlasa, who sits on the LAHSA Commission oversight board, said the agency’s exit numbers show “we aren’t doing something right” and LAHSA should rewrite contracts with providers so there’s more emphasis on outcomes.“There needs to be a major reset,” he said.

Ponce was evicted from a Boyle Heights tiny home village run by Volunteers of America Los Angeles, which has 1,300 interim beds across 14 sites in the county.The 41-year-old mother of four said she struggles with chronic seizures and uses meth, crack and PCP.

She now lives in a tent near the 5 Freeway.If she forgets to take her seizure medication, Ponce said, she can have several episodes a day.“They should have given me a second chance,” Ponce said.“I don’t want to be on the streets.”Los Angeles County’s interim housing system is primarily managed by LAHSA, which receives money from the city of L.A.

and the county and then pays nonprofit operators to run congregate shelt...