Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass addressed the homeless crisis in her State of the City speech, urging the wealthy to help fund housing for the homeless in an effort to alleviate the situation. She highlighted the success of her Inside Safe program which moved thousands of homeless individuals into temporary shelters. Mayor Bass emphasized the importance of moving past nightly rentals and acquiring more properties to speed up housing for the homeless through a new capital campaign called LA4LA.
Despite numerous programs and billions of dollars being allocated towards homelessness in Los Angeles, the number of homeless individuals continues to rise. Mayor Bass attributes this increase to evictions and the end of COVID-19 aid for low-income households. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported a 9% increase in the number of homeless people countywide, with approximately 46,200 considered homeless in the city.
A coalition of business owners and residents in LA has filed a lawsuit against the city for allegedly not fulfilling a 2020 settlement agreement that promised the construction of thousands of shelters and clearing out homeless encampments. The Los Angeles City Council has agreed to pay an outside firm $2.2 million to audit its homelessness programs following a request by a federal judge. Mayor Bass stressed the need for private sector involvement in tackling the homeless crisis, emphasizing the humanity and generosity needed to address this emergency.
Mayor Bass highlighted the negative impacts of the homeless crisis on the city, including driving away businesses and customers, costing taxpayers resources, and creating safety concerns. She emphasized her commitment to not accepting the current situation and urged the city to work together to address the homeless crisis. Bass expressed her belief that the new program, LA4LA, can be a transformative partnership that disrupts the status quo and saves lives in Los Angeles.
The mayor’s plan to house the homeless involves moving individuals into temporary shelters with the help of the private sector, philanthropic funds, and personal contributions. She acknowledged the high cost of such an endeavor and called on the most fortunate Angelenos to participate in efforts to acquire more properties and expedite the process of housing the homeless. The overall goal of the new capital campaign, LA4LA, is to create a system that effectively addresses and ends homelessness in Los Angeles in the long term.
