Coalition Launches Yes on H for Quarter-Cent Sales Tax to End Homelessness

The Yes on H campaign kicked off this morning. The kickoff featured a broad array of elected officials from L.A. County Supervisors to L.A.'s mayor, to representatives from South Gate, Culver City, Pomona, Compton, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and elsewhere. Labor, business, service providers, clergy, and formerly homeless people also spoke in favor of Measure H.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, calling homelessness the "greatest moral crisis of our time," stressed that L.A. County's Measure H works in conjunction with homeless housing to be built by L.A. City's Measure HHH, passed last November. Garcetti also stressed that voters vote against Measure S, which would hamper city efforts to build housing for the homeless.

Voters in L.A. county will vote on Measure H on the March ballot. If passed, it will create a quarter-cent sales tax to go to county services to prevent homelessness and to support supportive and long-term housing services for homeless. The tax would start in July and continue for ten years before sunsetting. Services would be divided by city, based on homeless population counts.

For information on how to help Measure H pass, go to the People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) website.