LA County, Change Rigid Rules that Cheat the Homeless out of Welfare Benefits!

  • by: Susan V
  • recipient: Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

Last month Civil Rights attorneys submitted a report to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors arguing that the county has created “bureaucratic barriers” that prevent the disabled and homeless from getting welfare benefits. But that report changed nothing, forcing attorneys to file a lawsuit.

The main issue advocates point to is the county’s failure to take into account special needs of many homeless people by insisting they apply for benefits in person, with no option to apply online. According to an update in the Los Angeles Times the lawsuit explains that “People with mental disabilities often become discouraged from applying for general relief because they cannot handle long wait times in noisy, chaotic county welfare offices” Those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, for example, may feel threatened by security guards who haven’t been properly trained in how to deal with these disabilities. Other applicants deal with language or comprehension barriers.

LA Times says the lawsuit contends that only a small percent of the county’s disabled homeless get the assistance they need to navigate county requirements. As a result thousands are cheated out of benefits

Attorneys add that their hope in filing the suit is to fix this broken system which they argue is violating state and federal disability laws

Sign this petition to demand LA County act NOW to change its rigid rules that cheat disabled homeless people out of welfare benefits.

To the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors:


Dear Members of the Board;


Based on reports in the Los Angeles Times and allegations by attorneys with  Morrison & Foerster, Western Center on Law and Poverty, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and Disability Rights Legal Center, there seems to be clear justification for filing a lawsuit insisting that LA County change its rules that, in effect, are cheating needy citizens out of benefits they are entitled to.


Most concerning is the Board’s failure to respond appropriately to attorneys’ initial report simply requesting changes, forcing them to file a lawsuit.


In light of the serious problems LA County and the country, as a whole, are having with homelessness, it seems that the Board would be eager to take steps that would ameliorate the problem rather than continue rigid policies that certainly exacerbate it.


For example, as reported in the LA Times last month, an autistic man who suffered from anxiety lost his benefits after the van he slept in had transmission problems, then he couldn’t pay the fee for his private postal box. Another man “with multiple mental illnesses“ and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Timothy Laraway, told the times “he wasn’t given the assistance he needed to get general relief.


According to the reports, attorneys tried several times to work with the county to get the needed changes made, but this Board was unresponsive.


We, the undersigned insist that Board members stop stalling on doing what is right to ensure its most needy citizens get the assistance they need. Please act now to change the county's rigid rules that cheat disabled homeless people out of welfare benefits.


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