A recent LATimes investigation found that about 67% of the homeless population in Los Angeles County has either a mental illness or a substance abuse disorder. Yet, Dr. Jonathan Sherin wrote in a December op-ed, mental health policies are failing those who most need services. Dr. Sherin, the director of the LA County Department of Mental Health, joins Then & Now this week to discuss this challenge. He sits down with Dr. Kirsten Moore-Sheeley and Jessica Richards, two authors of LCHP’s forthcoming report on the history of homelessness, to discuss the lack of adequate services for people experiencing homelessness, his suggestions for engaging with those reluctant to receive mental health care, and his department's approach to th multifaceted stressors of our time, from the COVID-19 pandemic to racial inequity.

This episode is the second in a multi-part series examining the history and present state of homelessness in LA County. Find the first episode here.