The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday picked a director for its new homelessness agency, turning to an executive that officials praised for her two decades of experience in helping people get off the streets.
In a unanimous vote, supervisors approved Sarah Mahin and a $375,000 annual salary for her to lead the Department of Homeless Services and Housing, which formerly launches Jan. 1.
Supervisors voted to create the new department earlier this year, stating they wanted more accountability over homelessness spending that today flows through a much criticized joint city-county authority, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
Mahin currently works for the county and since 2020 has been director of the Department of Health Services’ Housing for Health program, which officials see as a model for what comes next.
The program, launched in 2012, focuses on housing and helping people with complex medical needs. It employs more than 600 people on a $875-million annual budget.
Among the services offered are outreach, rental subsidies, interim housing beds and a wide-range of medical care.
Prior to serving as Housing for Health director, Mahin was director of policy and systems at LAHSA and also worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, according to her LinkedIn bio.
“For me, this work has always been rooted in innovation, collaboration, and accountability to the people and communities that we serve,” Mahin said a statement. “I am committed to leading with those values at the forefront. “
As director of the new county homelessness agency, Mahin will be tasked with overseeing a broad reorganization in how the county tackles homelessness.
In April, the Board of Supervisors voted to move hundreds of millions of county dollars out of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA and put it into the new agency.
The move followed two audits that, echoing years of criticism, found LAHSA lacked sufficient oversight of its contracts and programs, leaving them vulnerable to waste and fraud.
By Jan.1, more than 700 county workers will be transferred to the new Department of Homeless Services and Housing, with hundreds more from LAHSA joining six months later.
The new agency is expected to largely absorb programs for Housing for Health, which Mahin has been leading and will cease to exist as a separate division.
In a statement, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who helped lead the push for the new department, said Mahin’s experience at both LAHSA and the county is an asset as the county transitions from the old system.
“She’s exactly who we need, ready to hit the ground running with the urgency this moment demands,” Horvath said.
