Nearly a year after Los Angeles County voters approved a quarter cent sales tax for homeless services, the money raised so far has helped people obtain permanent housing and rental subsidies, increased the number of emergency shelter beds and encouraged more outreach teams — but a long steep road remains, county officials acknowledged Thursday.

Revenue received by the county from voter approved Measure H was $44 million from payments in October and November 2017, according to data requested by the Daily News. December and January numbers aren’t yet available.

The sales tax went into effect in October.

Much of the money generated by Measure H already has gone into programs, while other services have started in anticipation of funding to come.

That includes $41.1 million advanced to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to cover ramped-up services and operating expenses, county officials said.

“That amount is advanced by LAHSA to contracted providers delivering direct services,” county officials said.

In addition, as of Tuesday, Measure H funding claimed to date totals $40.5 million.

Major claimed expenditures are for programs that include:

$3.15 million for outreach

$18 million for emergency shelter/bridge housing

$14 million for rapid rehousing

$2.6 million for permanent supportive housing

Measure H was passed by Los Angeles County voters last March to raise an estimated $355 million a year for 10 years to help homeless people transition into affordable housing units.

Many of those units are to be built under Proposition HHH, a parcel tax approved by voters in the city of Los Angeles in November.

Prop HHH is expected to raise $1.2 billion in bonds for the construction of 10,000 units of housing.

But until those units are built, Measure H funding can also go into countywide homeless prevention efforts, emergency winter shelters and other social services for people who are or could become homeless. Those efforts are part of 21 initiatives that were approved by community groups, providers, social workers last year and the Board of Supervisors.

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On Thursday, at least 500 people were expected to gather inside a conference hall at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, for the second annual Homeless Initiative Conference. The goal was to hear an update on the work done, but also to push for more ideas to prevent homelessness, and to help find homes for families, as well as single men and women.

From July through December, county efforts and money from Measure H has among others helped:

*658 families that received homeless prevention services

* 483 homeless, disabled persons who obtained Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and were housed

* 1,037 people placed in rapid re-housing programs moved on to permanent housing

*4,261 disabled individuals to complete applications for SSI or Veterans Disability Benefits

* 1,064 individuals who exited shelters to go into permanent housing

Members of the Board of Supervisors who attended Thursday’s conference praised the work already done, but each said the hopes and aspirations expressed last year, before Measure H had passed, must now be implemented, since the funding is available. County leaders called for a deeper collaboration between providers, non-profit organizations, religious institutions. community members, housing owners and local lawmakers.

The work ahead will continue to be challenging, supervisors said, because of Los Angeles County’s high cost of rent and housing. In addition, homelessness appears to be rising. Last year, there were 58,000 homeless people counted in Los Angeles County, up 23 percent from the year before.

“The sad news is there’s no quick fix to the whole issue,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. “We’re building the infrastructure we need at the scale we’re going to need it, while we face a real troubling and daunting housing market.”

She said Los Angeles County has lost 1,000 Section 8 vouchers under the Trump Administration.

“The county is doing I would say all it can….but we need to do more to expand Section 8 housing,” Kuehl added.

In addition, the county hopes to hire 1,000 people to help homeless individuals and families find housing. Jobs will range from front-line outreach work and housing navigators to managers and executives. A website called JobsCombattingHomelessness.org was unveiled on Thursday for job-seekers who want to earn “a paycheck with purpose,” officials said.

Despite the long road ahead and a public that wants to see less people sleeping in tents on the street or in encampments, there already appears to be good results, said Phil Ansell, director of the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative. He too said he feels overwhelmed by the high number of people who are homeless, as well as outraged at the situation. But he also said he’s seeing momentum that will help people out of homelessness.

“I think we’ve had extraordinary tangible outcomes in just six months,” Ansell said. “It’s amazing, how people are coming together and working together.”