SYMPOSIUM
LOS ANGELES PUBLIC INTEREST LAW JOURNAL
2 L.A. PUB. INT. L.J. 79
CASUALTIES OF CUTS: HOMELESSNESS IN THE FACE OF CALIFORNIA’S BUDGET WOES Sharon Rapport This article examines the impact of state budget cuts on California's homeless population. These cuts will not only cause increased homelessness and keep people homeless longer, they will widen the gap between income and housing costs, jeopardize the health of homeless people, and possibly lead to violations of federal civil rights laws. While the California Legislature and the Schwarzenegger Administration ponder several measures that would ease homelessness in the state, they also face potentially drastic additional cuts that will continue to place the burden of our systemic failures on our most vulnerable citizens. | AuthorsSharon Rapport joined the Corporation for Supportive Housing in November 2006. As the Associate Director for California Policy at CSH, Ms. Rapport advances and coordinates efforts to implement a California policy agenda across multiple issues affecting people experiencing homelessness, including working to create an interagency council on homelessness,
to channel Medi-Cal resources toward more effective services for people experiencing homelessness, to expedite and facilitate processing of SSI cases for disabled homeless individuals, and to create a state services funding program. Prior to joining CSH, Ms. Rapport served as a Congressional Fellow for U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), focusing on housing and judiciary issues. She previously spent 11 years working for the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration, in Los Angeles and San Diego, most recently as Hearing Office Director. During her tenure as Staff Attorney for Inland Counties Legal Services in Indio, CA, through June 1994, Ms. Rapport litigated on behalf of indigent clients on a wide range of civil cases. She earned a J.D. from George Washington University and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles. |
