Supervisors Tap Founding Leader for Newly Created Homeless Services Department

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors July 8 approved the appointment of Sarah Mahin as the first director of the new Department of Homeless Services and Housing or DHSH, the county’s consolidated department focused on homelessness solutions.

In her role, Mahin will help lead the county’s realignment of its homelessness and housing services system into the new department, overseeing the transition of services from multiple county departments into a central agency.

Sarah Mahin currently serves as the director of Housing for Health or HFH — the gold-standard division in the LA County Department of Health Services that is the blueprint for the new Department of Homeless Services and Housing. For the past six years, Mahin has served on the leadership team of HFH, where she oversees a $875 million budget, more than 600 staff and contracts with hundreds of community-based organizations.

In her current role, Mahin is responsible for multiple programs that provide housing and services for people with complex health and behavioral health conditions. Mahin has worked in homeless services for two decades, including at the US Department of Veteran Affairs and Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority or LAHSA. At LAHSA, she served as the director of policy and systems and coordinated services across hundreds of organizations and multiple county and city departments, developing and implementing policy solutions, and building partnerships.

“I am honored to serve as the inaugural director of the Department of Homeless Services and Housing, and I am grateful to the Board of Supervisors,” Mahin said. “For me, this work has always been rooted in innovation, collaboration, and accountability to the people and communities that we serve. I am committed to leading with those values at the forefront. Together — with housed and unhoused neighbors, frontline workers, community partners, and local leaders — we will build a department grounded in dignity, inclusion, and real solutions that meet this moment and the future.”

Mahin earned a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Georgetown University.

On April 1, 2025, the Board of Supervisors approved a motion to establish the county’s first-ever department focused on homelessness solutions. On July 1, 2025, the Board of Supervisors approved the new department name. The goal of this new department is increased accountability, improved service delivery for people experiencing homelessness, and reducing the burden on the providers who serve them every day. DHSH will be officially established by January 1, 2026.

A community engagement plan has been developed, and community meetings will be announced soon. In the interim, the public may submit questions or comments about the new department here. For more information on the development of the Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing, visit ceo.lacounty.gov/dh.