Homeless Service Veteran Sarah Mahin leads the New Los Angeles County Homeless Bureau
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors selected a director for its new homeless agency Tuesday, turning to an executive who praised her two decades of experience in helping people leave the streets.
In a unanimous vote, the supervisor approved Sarah Mahin and $375,000 in annual salary to lead the Homeless Services and Housing Department, which was previously launched on January 1.
Supervisors voted to set up a new department earlier this year, noting that they hope to put more accountability for homeless spending, which flows through today through a critical United City County County Los Angeles Homeless Services Department.
Mahin currently works in the county and has been director of the Department of Health Services’ Health Program since 2020, and officials see it as a model for what will happen next.
The program was launched in 2012 with a focus on housing and helping people with complex medical needs. It employs more than 600 employees on an annual budget of $875 million.
Services provided include outreach, rental subsidies, temporary housing beds and a wide range of medical services.
Mahin served as Director of Policy and Systems for LAHSA before serving as Director of Health, and also worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Montgomery County Homeless Alliance, according to her LinkedIn Bio.
“For me, this work has been rooted in innovation, collaboration and accountability in the people and communities we serve,” Ma Xin said. “I am committed to bringing these values to the forefront.”
As a director of the New County Homeless Bureau, Mahin will oversee how the county tackles the widespread restructuring of homeless people.
In April, the board of supervisors voted to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Bureau or Lahsa and put it into a new agency.
The move comes after two reviews, responding to years of criticism, finding that Lhasa lacks sufficient oversight contracts and plans to make them vulnerable to waste and fraud.
By January 1, more than 700 county workers will be transferred to the new Homeless and Housing Department, and six months later, hundreds of people from Lahsa joined.
The new agency is expected to absorb programs for healthy housing to a large extent, and Mahin has been leading and will no longer be a separate department.
In a statement, Lindsey Horvath, director who helped lead the new department, said Mahin’s experience in Lahsa and the county was both the county that transitioned from the old system.
“She is exactly who we need, ready to run the urgency that is demanding at this moment,” Hovas said.
