Rhoda and Gochin – who have operated a small family-style board and care home in the San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles) for the last 22 years
“Our Governor and Legislature must take immediate action to prevent the seriously mentally ill and seniors from becoming homeless and to avoid the devastation of this critical housing resource for some of the most vulnerable residents in the State,” said Bennie Tinson, MPP, LARCA Executive Director.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. The Licensed Adult Residential Care Association (LARCA) will travel to Sacramento August 22-23, in coordination with the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater Los Angeles County to advocate for fair treatment for Los Angeles County’s seriously mentally ill.
Low-income people living with serious mental illness in LA County and across the State are at risk of becoming homeless. The Department of Social Services recently reported the closing of 27 facilities in Los Angeles County in the first quarter of 2023, that provide care and housing for some of the States most vulnerable residents.
More facilities are expected to close before the end of the year. LARCA Members are urging Governor Newsom and State Legislators to move quickly to provide immediate emergency funding to prevent millions of low-income seniors and adults living with serious mental illness from becoming homeless. Residents diagnosed with a serious mental illness receive approximately $44 a day.
The are too many Homeless seniors on the streets. This person is sleeping on the handicapped ramp of the LA County Board of Supervisors Boardroom.
LARCA members are requesting an immediate infusion of $2,000 for each bed in a state-licensed facility with 70% of their residents receiving the Social Security Income (SSI) payment, living with serious mental illness, and receiving no other supplemental assistance.
Adult Residential Facilities (ARFs) and Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs), more commonly known as “Board and Cares,” provide housing, 24/7 care, staff assistance to help residents meet their basic daily needs, three meals a day snacks, medication management and more.
The Licensed Adult Residential Care Association (LARCA) represents over 400 Los Angeles County licensed ARF’s and RCFE’s, many of whom are struggling to keep their doors open and more than 15,000 low-income Los Angeles County residents living with serious mental illness.
Bennie Tinson, MPP, LARCA Executive Director.
About The Licensed Adult Residential Care Association (LARCA)
LARCA is a nonprofit community-based membership association with an emphasis on serving the population of owner/operators of Adult Residential Facilities (ARFs) and Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs) and their residents, who are reliant on public benefits and/or living with serious mental illness, formed with fiscal sponsorship from the National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Los Angeles County (NAMI GLAC).
Homeless senior sleeping on the handicapped ramp of the LA County Board of Supervisors Boardroom.
“We are losing facilities that care for seriously mentally ill adults because the reimbursement rates are inadequate. Mentally ill adults have nowhere to go and end up homeless,” said Bennie Tinson, MPP, LARCA’s Executive Director.
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. Just $44 per day is all that the State of California budgets to provide seriously mentally ill adults with housing and food at a licensed Adult Residential-care Facility (ARF). It’s not enough.
As a result, adult residential care facilities are closing, and mentally ill adults have nowhere to go. At a time when the State and the County have both announced funds being budgeted to create more residential care for seriously mentally ill homeless adults, ironically, they are failing to fix a problem that results in people who are now housed and cared for and putting them back on the streets.
It seems the right-hand does not know what the left hand is doing. There is a clear failure to analyze the whole picture and come up with a solution that does not create new problems.
Adults diagnosed with developmental disabilities get between $191 and $391 for care and housing. The Los Angeles Regional Caregivers Association (LARCA) is a nonprofit group that advocates for parity with facilities that work with the developmentally disabled.
“We are losing facilities that care for seriously mentally ill adults because the reimbursement rates are inadequate. Mentally ill adults have nowhere to go and end up homeless,” said Bennie Tinson, MPP, LARCA’s Executive Director. “How can anyone think that $44 a day is enough to provide housing, food, and care for the mentally ill who cannot take care of themselves?”
Adult Residential-care Facilities prevent homelessness and provide meals, housekeeping, laundry, and medication management. Failure to take medications is a key predictor of psychiatric relapse, which can lead to overuse of emergency services, incarceration, and homelessness.
To prevent further facility closings, LARCA members and community supporters advocate for the following:
Immediate infusion of $2,000 per bed for each state-licensed facility with 70% of their census on SSI and living with Serious Mental Illness with no supplemental
Raise reimbursement rates to facilities that provide care and housing to low-income residents living with Serious Mental Illness that is on par with those living with Developmental Disabilities.
Bennie Tinson, MPP, LARCA Executive Director.
“With proper funding, Adult Residential Facilities can take 936 homeless seniors off the streets right now,” said Tinson.
According to the California State Commission on Aging people over 50 are more than half of all homeless and the fastest-growing segment of the homeless. They need proper care, provided by properly funded licensed care facilities.
About The Licensed Adult Residential Care Association (LARCA)
LARCA is a nonprofit membership association with an emphasis on serving the population of owner/operators of Adult Residential Facilities (ARFs) and Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs) and their residents, who are reliant on public benefits and living with serious mental illness, formed with fiscal sponsorship from the National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Los Angeles Chapter (NAMI GLAC) and financial support from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
