The LA Alliance for Human Rights is a coalition that focuses on homelessness and mental illness in Los Angeles. ¹

The organization began when a coalition of business owners, residents, and social service providers formed an unincorporated group in 2019 to sue the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County to provide shelter for the homeless, alleging that inaction by the city and county created a dangerous environment for residents. ²

Background

The LA Alliance for Human Rights is a coalition that focuses on homelessness and mental illness in Los Angeles. The organization says it works for a “return to clean sidewalks.” ³

The organization began when a group of business owners, residents, and social service providers formed an unincorporated group in 2019 to sue the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County to force the governments to provide shelter for the homeless. The group grew to include homeless people as members. ³

In 2022, the group received tax-exempt status as a charitable organization, retroactive to 2021. ¹

The LA Alliance for Human Rights says it raises awareness, engages election leaders, and continues litigation against the city and county government. ³

Leadership

Don Steier is the chairman of the LA Alliance for Human Rights. A graduate from the University of California at Los Angeles, Steier is a former deputy district attorney and currently serves as the general counsel for the L.A. Industrial Business Improvement District. ³

Paul Webster is the executive director of the LA Alliance for Human Rights. Webster is also the founder and director of the Hope Street Coalition, a group that focuses on combating homelessness, mental illness, and addiction. ⁴ He was previously a senior policy advisor in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has been a staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives and before that a staffer in the California state Senate³

Elizabeth Mitchell is the lead attorney for the LA Alliance for Human Rights. She is an attorney with the firm of Spertus, Landes, and Umhofer, LLP.  Mitchell was previously an attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office in the Police Litigation Unit and a former city prosecutor. ³ According to the group’s 2023 990 form, Mitchell was listed as a director and the chief financial officer of the group. ⁵

Daniel Conway is a policy advisor for the LA Alliance for Human Rights. Conway was a former chief of staff for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson (D). ³

Hal Bastian is the group’s secretary. ⁵ He is a real-estate broker based in downtown Los Angeles and a former longtime executive with the Downtown Center Business Improvement District. ⁶ Bastian explored a candidacy for Los Angeles City Council in 2020, but did not secure the required 500 signatures to appear on the ballot. ⁷

Litigation

A lawsuit filed in March 2020 by the LA Alliance for Human Rights alleged that local government agencies are legally mandated to provide shelter space to about 59,000 homeless people living in Los Angeles County and 36,000 in the city of Los Angeles. ⁸ The group includes businesses, residents, landlords, homeless people, and other area residents that allege inaction by the city and county created a dangerous environment for residents. ⁹

The city of Los Angeles called the lawsuit “misguided” and argued a federal lawsuit would   “ignore fundamental principles of federalism and separation of powers, and […] intrude into the city’s handling of complex policy issues that should be addressed by the elected city leaders, not the court.” ¹⁰

In September 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned an earlier order from U.S. District Judge David Carter requiring the city and county to find immediate shelter for homeless persons living on the streets. ¹¹

In January 2022, Judge Carter issued a separate order for a mandatory settlement in the alliance’s lawsuit requiring the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County to work together to develop a plan to find shelter for its homeless population. ¹²

In 2022, the City of Los Angeles and the LA Alliance for Human Rights reached a settlement after what Judge Carter called “the result of long and deliberate good-faith negotiations.” The settlement required the City of Los Angeles to spend up to $3 billion to develop as many as 16,000 beds or housing units for non-mentally ill homeless residents. Under the settlement agreement, the court would have jurisdiction to enforce the settlement agreement for five years. Even though Los Angeles County was not a part of the settlement, Spectrum News characterized the City as arguing the County “must be responsible for providing services and housing for homeless individuals with serious mental illness, substance-use issues or chronic physical illnesses.” In May 2022, the Los Angeles City Council approved the settlement agreement by a vote of 12-3. The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles intervened in the case and opposed the settlement, claiming that the true goal of the settlement was to enforce anti-camping laws and force the homeless off the streets. ¹³

In September 2023, Los Angeles County and the LA Alliance for Human Rights announced a settlement agreement. As a part of the agreement, Los Angeles County pledged to spend “$1.24 billion in additional funding to provide 3,000 beds for people with mental health and substance use disorders experiencing homelessness, while also expanding street-based outreach and wraparound services.” Earlier, Los Angeles County pledged to spend $293 million to provide 6,700 beds for homeless people who lived near freeways and homeless seniors. The settlement provided additional subsidies for 450 board-and-care beds with a focus on the elderly and disabled. The county also agreed to provide a comprehensive suite of support services for those homeless people using the 13,000 beds the city of Los Angeles agreed to build in its own settlement with the LA Alliance. The agreement will terminate on June 30, 2027. ¹⁴

In March 2024, U.S. District Judge David Carter indicated that he thought the City of Los Angeles was not meeting its deadlines in its two-year-old agreement to provide more homeless shelter space with the LA Alliance. In addition, Judge Carter accused the city of misleading the LA Alliance’s attorneys by overpromising contracting plans to remove homeless encampments that were not fulfilled by specific deadlines according to the agreement. ¹⁵

In August 2024, Judge Carter directed officials with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to make available data showing where hundreds of millions of dollars went as a part of a comprehensive audit by the firm Alvarez and Marsal. The auditors claimed that both the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County had not provided all the data they had requested. ¹⁶

In March 2025, the audit became public and it found that the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County could not account for billions of dollars spent to combat homelessness in 2024. The auditors claimed that it was nearly impossible to track the $2.5 billion the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) spent due to poor recordkeeping. The LA Alliance called the audit results “heartbreaking” but it was not surprised by the results. ¹⁷

Grants Pass Amicus Brief

In 2023, the LA Alliance for Human Rights joined with business and property-owner groups in the Los Angeles area and Spokane, Washington, to file an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the city of Grants Pass, Oregon in the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson case which sought to overturn a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals barring Grants Pass from enforcing its anti-camping on public land ordinances. The amicus brief criticized the Ninth Circuit for imposing unrealistic mandates on what cities can do to count and shelter their homeless populations. The brief also pointed out that anti-public camping restrictions could force homeless people to finally admit that they need help and to seek that help. ¹⁸

The brief also pointed out that in Los Angeles, a major homeless encampment in Echo Park was only cleared by the city government once there was a declared safety emergency and after months of trying to persuade the homeless to leave the camp voluntarily. According to the brief, Echo Park remained closed to both the homeless and those who were not homeless for months because the park had to be cleaned up. The brief claimed that these homeless camps often return and that the Ninth Circuit’s decision, if upheld, would make it more difficult for city governments to solve the homeless problem and protect public safety. The brief claimed that the failure to enforce anti-public camping laws against the homeless has resulted in more fires, increased insurance and security costs for businesses, and some workers such as postal workers and delivery drivers being unable to complete their work. The brief concluded by arguing that anti-public camping laws are an important tool to clear out homeless encampments which threaten the health and safety of both the homeless themselves and people who are not homeless. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Grants Pass and held that anti-camping ordinances were not “cruel and unusual punishment.” ¹⁸

Issue Stances

In July 2024, the LA Alliance for Human Rights supported an executive order issued by California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) that encouraged local governments to clear out homeless encampments. However, the group was skeptical of how the order would be implemented and expressed concern that just sweeping people off the street would not get the homeless the help they needed. ¹⁹

In November 2024, the LA Alliance for Human Rights opposed a quarter-cent sales tax increase that would be used to fund efforts to combat homelessness including rent relief programs, eviction defense aid, and more low-income housing developments. The group opposed the sales tax increase due to a lack of accountability on local homelessness spending. After the sales tax increase passed, the group vowed to track the increased spending to make sure it was effective. ²⁰

In 2024, the LA Alliance for Human Rights supported the passage of California Proposition 36, which mandated drug treatment for certain drug offenses, increased criminal penalties for other drug offenses, and increased sentences for theft based on the value of the property stolen. California Proposition 36 amended California Proposition 47, which passed in 2014 and reduced the criminal penalties for certain theft offenses. Proposition 36 passed in November 2024, and in February 2025, the LA Alliance for Human Rights posted on Twitter, “True justice isn’t just about accountability—it’s about redemption. ❤️ Prop 36 combines treatment with tougher laws, offering hope to break the cycle of addiction and crime. Could this make a real difference for a safer, more compassionate LA? #Prop36 #LA.” ²¹

Financials

According to the LA Alliance for Human Rights’ 2023 tax return, the group had $265,677 in revenue, $140,133 in expenses, and $220,673 in total assets. ⁵

In September 2020, the singer Charli XCX donated $50,000 to the group. ²²

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