L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger withdrew her nomination of celebrity doctor Dr. Drew Pinsky to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) on Tuesday following public outcry.
On Tuesday, Barger announced the withdrawal of her proposal to appoint Pinsky, better known as Dr. Drew, to the LAHSA on Twitter after the consideration resulted in backlash due to Dr. Drew’s controversial stance on the homelessness crisis.
“I knew that Dr. Drew would bring a new, forward-thinking approach and would help us address mental health and substance abuse as driving factors in the ongoing homelessness crisis,” Barger said. “Unfortunately, the proposed appointment took away from these important conversations about care for people experiencing homelessness.”
Pinsky, best known for giving relationship advice on the “Loveline” radio show, has said the homeless crisis in Los Angeles can be attributed to a lack of treatment for mental health and addiction, as opposed to a lack of housing.
“UCLA, in its study of the homeless population in Los Angeles, found that approximately 78% of our unsheltered homeless population suffered from a mental health condition– and we know that often, mental health and substance abuse are intertwined,” Barger said. “Yet we continue to have the same conversations concerning housing supply and affordable housing, and it’s not enough.”
Multiple people cited Pinsky’s tendency to dole out false statistics about the number of homeless people who are mentally ill or have substance abuse issues.
Others called Pinsky a COVID-19 denier, pointing to comments he made during a television interview calling the pandemic “a press-induced panic.”
Pinsky has since apologized for those comments.
Barger said she would continue to work with Pinsky in other ways.
“I hope we can move past pettiness and instead focus our time and energy on working to solve the hard problems, rather than looking for excuses to place blame,” concluded Barger. “There are thousands of individuals on the streets right now who need our help and we cannot delay.”
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