Homelessness may be the most urgent problem in Los Angeles, but the debate about it often ignores important legal realities. Join a distinguished panel of experts who will provide clarity regarding what state and local governments can and cannot do to address homelessness, and what effective, legal solutions to a complex crisis might look like. Q&A with the panelists to follow.

Class covers:

Do local governments have a legal obligation to address homelessness?
Does the law allow local governments to remove encampments or “crack down” on other visible signs of homelessness?
What rights do unhoused individuals have, and how do these legal rights affect efforts to end homelessness?
What would a legal “right to shelter” look like? (And what did it once look like in California?)
Why does homelessness persist despite the laws passed and the funding created so far, and what legal solutions might see more success in the future?

Presented by: Prof. Gary Blasi, Professor of Law Emeritus, UCLA School of Law (https://law.ucla.edu/faculty/faculty-profiles/gary-l-blasi), Sen. Sydney K. Kamlager, California State Senate (https://sd30.senate.ca.gov/), Elizabeth Mitchell, Counsel, Spertus, Landes & Umhofer LLP (https://spertuslaw.com/our-attorneys/elizabeth-mitchell/), Benjamin Oreskes, Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times (https://www.latimes.com/people/benjamin-oreskes), Alisha Saska, Community Legal Aid of SoCal, (https://www.communitylegalsocal.org/)