Homeless in Los Angeles

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/opinion/homeless-los-angeles.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Homeless Plan Wins $1.2 Billion. Now the Hard Part” (news article, Oct. 1):

Solving our housing problems has never been a technical problem, a legal problem or even a money problem. It has always been a political problem.

The leaders and citizens of Los Angeles deserve high praise for taking homelessness seriously and mustering the political will to provide substantial funding to solve it. But it will require sustained political will to manage the inevitable local opposition to building supportive housing throughout L.A.

In my prior career, I worked full time assisting nonprofit affordable-housing developers obtain local government approvals in the face of neighborhood opposition for seven years. I learned that with planning, genuine listening, the right skill set and creativity, local opposition can be successfully managed even if never overcome.

Carry on, Los Angeles!

TIM IGLESIAS, SAN FRANCISCO

The writer is a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law.