A whistleblower has accused the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) of serious misconduct, claiming the city’s homeless budget failures stem from unethical behavior by top leaders.
According to LAist, an internal letter alleges that Va Lecia Adams Kellum, LAHSA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), violated professional ethics by hiring unqualified friends for senior positions. These individuals allegedly received high salaries and, in some cases, used agency cell phones for personal use.
The whistleblower further claims that Adams Kellum ordered the destruction of public records and behaved inappropriately at conferences and major meetings. She reportedly instructed that at least two emails received via LAHSA’s official account be deleted.
A senior LAHSA official also refused to release data detailing the implementation of the Inside Safe program (a homeless housing initiative) promoted by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. A former employee, who exposed misconduct at the agency, alleged retaliation after declining to hide statistics related to Inside Safe beneficiaries.
The letter, which revealed these allegations, was reportedly written by lawyers representing two former LAHSA executives—Kristina Dixon, former Chief Financial Officer, and Emily Vaughn Henry, former Chief Information and Data Officer. Both say they were wrongfully terminated after opposing Adams Kellum’s alleged misconduct.
The report states that LAHSA offered an $800,000 settlement to prevent the letter and related lawsuits from becoming public. That sum could cover housing and meals for approximately 40 homeless individuals for one year.
A LAHSA spokesperson denied the whistleblower’s claims and did not confirm whether the agency reported the allegations to the Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller’s Office for investigation.
In the wake of mounting criticism over homeless budget mismanagement, Adams Kellum announced her resignation on April 2. On April 8, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it had launched an investigation into how homeless budgets are being handled across seven counties, including Los Angeles.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
