Mayor Eric Garcetti recently announced the first steps of a comprehensive strategy to address the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles, an effort that would invest at least $100 million annually in City funding to help house tens of thousands of homeless individuals.
To address immediate needs, Garcetti also announced a critical short-term strategy to secure an additional $13 million in emergency funding to expand homeless services and housing. The bulk of that funding, $10 million, will be allocated to veterans and non-chronically homeless people in the form of housing subsidies — to rapidly re-house individuals who need short-term assistance to get off the street and on with their lives. Garcetti called for shelters to remain open 24 hours a day during the rainy season, and for winter shelter availability to expand by two months. The mayor also proposed seed money to incentivize new storage and access centers across the city — that would newly provide access to restrooms, showers, laundry, and services, as well as providing safe storage for personal possessions.
This comes as Los Angeles City Council leaders declared homelessness in Los Angeles a “state of emergency” and introduced a motion to allocate $100 million in one-time funding for homeless services…