Less than a month after it was established and with the first new staff having just started days earlier, the new Los Angeles County Emergency Centralized Response Center was being put to the test by the devastating and fast-moving wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Designed as a centralized coordinating entity to oversee and direct daily operations for more than 150 outreach teams serving nearly 45,000 unsheltered people across Los Angeles County, the ECRC is structured to provide coordination of outreach and access to interim housing and County resources during natural disasters and other emergencies such as cold or hot weather events.
But on January 7th, a bigger and more immediate crisis emerged, and the new ECRC structure was put to use as the central coordinating entity for the County’s homeless services delivery system to evacuate hundreds of people experiencing homelessness who were in shelters that had to evacuate because they were located in harm’s way.
“It was on,” said Elizabeth “Libby” Boyce with the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, who has more than 33 years of experience working with the County on homelessness. Libby was tasked with overseeing the implementation of the ECRC after the County Board of Supervisors adopted a motion directing the creation of the new center in late September 2024. Thanks to powers made available under the Countywide state of emergency, that structure was quickly launched just months later in December.
The new ECRC includes Homeless Initiative staff who process referrals and coordinate efforts; County departmental representatives, including the Departments of Health Services, Public Health, Public Social Services, Mental Health, Sheriffs, and Military and Veteran Affairs; partners form the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA); and LA City Care Team staff. The ECRC is positioned to produce real-time updates on encampment efforts, resource availability, program enrollments, and to support outreach teams to more effectively serve unsheltered individuals and to ensure that all stake holders and participants work towards collective goals.
LAHSA
