{"id":434001,"date":"2021-04-20T09:51:25","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T13:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=434001"},"modified":"2021-04-20T09:51:34","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T13:51:34","slug":"dr-drews-nomination-to-los-angeles-homeless-commission-sparks-backlash-from-progressives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dr-drews-nomination-to-los-angeles-homeless-commission-sparks-backlash-from-progressives\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Drew\u2019s Nomination To Los Angeles Homeless Commission Sparks Backlash From Progressives"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdr-drews-nomination-to-los-angeles-homeless-commission-sparks-backlash-from-progressives%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=434001&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-2716.jpeg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>Progressive activists in Southern California are pushing back against the appointment of celebrity physician Dr. Drew Pinsky to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).<\/p>\n<p>The Los Angeles Daily News <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynews.com\/2021\/04\/18\/dr-drew-pinskys-nomination-to-la-countys-homeless-commission-sparks-pushback\/\">reports<\/a>, \u201cif the Board of Supervisors approves the nomination at Tuesday\u2019s meeting, Pinsky would sit on a 10-member commission that governs budgets, funding, planning and policy for the lead agency that coordinates housing and services for the unhoused across L.A. County.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pinsky, 62, was nominated to the position last week by L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the only Republican on the powerful Board of Sups. She represents approximately two million constituents in America\u2019s most populous county. Barger said Pinsky would \u201cbring a fresh perspective with vast medical experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, the choice sparked immediate outrage by local homeless advocates who <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WVPple\/status\/1384154614518358023\">say<\/a> Pinsky has a long history of espousing \u201cproblematic\u201d views and making unsubstantiated claims. Commonly known as Dr. Drew, the media personality formerly hosted a local radio show where became partly known for lashing out at California politicians\u2019 handling of the rising homeless population. Some of Pinksy\u2019s critics point to comments he made last April downplaying the COVID-19 threat, which they say should disqualify him from consideration to the homeless commission. Pinsky eventually apologized for those remarks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven on a surface level, why are you [appointing] a celebrity doctor \u2013 and I use the term \u2018doctor\u2019 loosely \u2013 that has recent activity with being a COVID denier?\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2021-04-17\/dr-drew-nominated-to-public-houseless-service-board\">asked<\/a> Mark Horvath, founder of the nonprofit Invisible People.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"10.587257617729\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Our West Valley Supervisor <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kathrynbarger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@kathrynbarger<\/a> has nominated of Dr. Drew Pinsky to the LAHSA. West Valley orgs &#038; those working most on homelessness say Dr. Drew has been a toxic voice of misinformation on homelessness. <\/p>\n<p>Act TODAY to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DumpDrDrew?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DumpDrDrew<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udc49Toolkit <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OIoxgoXCe4\">https:\/\/t.co\/OIoxgoXCe4<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/psccHF4B8K\">pic.twitter.com\/psccHF4B8K<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 West Valley People\u2019s Alliance (@WVPple) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WVPple\/status\/1384154614518358023?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 19, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Horvath\u2019s group is part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WVPple\/status\/1384154614518358023\">progressive coalition<\/a> opposing Pinsky\u2019s nomination that includes a Black Lives Matter-convened alliance called People\u2019s City Council Los Angeles. They have accused Pinsky of \u201cnot using data or research to inform his solution proposals\u201d and \u201cblatantly ignoring several documented causes of homelessness.\u201d The activists are urging allies to contact elected officials to demand they reject Pinsky\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Los Angeles Times, Pinsky \u201csaid he was surprised by the uproar about appointing a physician who wants to donate his time and has worked in the mental health and addiction field for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The L.A. Daily News reports:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"20\">\n<p><em>Barger said she shared Pinsky\u2019s approach to homelessness, which puts a strong emphasis on mental health treatment and addiction recovery \u2014 the flip side, critics say, of those calling for bulking up the housing inventory and adding new layers of affordable dwellings \u2014 as a remedy for the crisis of the unhoused. Pinsky has angered advocates for the homeless by urging law enforcement to more assertively enforce drug laws as an incentive to get people with addiction issues into mandated treatment programs and on to recovery.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Pinsky said Friday that if appointed he\u2019s not in it to mandate his point of view. He added that he does indeed believe that expanding housing is part of the solution for the homeless crisis but that treatment for mental health needs to be better integrated into public policy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI come to this with an open heart and an open mind, and hope to learn as much as possible,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>LAHSA, a joint powers authority of the City and County of Los Angeles, canceled its annual homeless count this year because of the pandemic. L.A. County\u2019s overall homeless population is estimated at approximately 66,000 individuals. The Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit research organization, <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7.com\/la-county-homelessness-socal-homeless-crisis-economic-roundtable-population\/9601083\/\">projects<\/a> that number will rise to 89,760 by 2023, representing a 36% increase.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/dr-drew-talks-to-woman-doused-with-hot-diarrhea-warns-of-more-random-attacks-as-homeless-deteriorate-on-l-a-streets\">Dr. Drew Talks To Woman Doused With \u2018Hot Diarrhea,\u2019 Warns Of More Random Attacks As Homeless \u2018Deteriorate\u2019 On L.A. Streets<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Progressive activists in Southern California are pushing back against the appointment of celebrity physician Dr. Drew Pinsky to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).The Los Angeles Daily News reports, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2276219,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-2716.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Dr. Drew\u2019s Nomination To Los Angeles Homeless Commission Sparks Backlash From Progressives","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-434001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-2716.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Dr. Drew\u2019s Nomination To Los Angeles Homeless Commission Sparks Backlash From Progressives","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2276219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}