Nearly one in six homeless people who participated in Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe initiative either left the program’s housing facility or He has completely withdrawn from the program.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported this week. Inside Safe, which transfers people from camps to hotels, motels and other facilities, had an 83% housing retention rate by Thursday, raising the possibility that a significant number of program participants have returned to the streets. there is
The agency reported that 153 people, or 10.5% of Inside Safe participants, dropped out of the program entirely. The mayor said six of them died, at least four of them from fatal overdoses. Four were in medical or psychiatric facilities and three were imprisoned, according to the agency’s dashboard.
In addition, 6.6% of Inside Safe attendees now state that they are “served from the road.” The agency said this category refers to people who have moved out of Inside Safe temporary or permanent housing but are still associated with outreach workers.
These numbers can easily change. LAHSA’s Inside Safe numbers have fluctuated in recent weeks. This is because Inside Safe participants’ living conditions have changed and our staff are trying to refine the numbers. For example, the agency said in its report that it was trying to resolve questions about 42 customers who had “never been in temporary housing.”
Bass said her team is doing everything to increase retention.
“I want it to be 100%,” she said. “Otherwise, people who leave the program will leave the program because they are with their families or because they are in permanent supportive housing. Absolutely not.”
Bass said he was told one of the reasons for his departure was dissatisfaction with the rules in place at the program’s hotels and motels. At the LA Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, which is currently being used as temporary housing for the homeless, residents are prohibited from letting guests into their rooms, she said.
Bass said some people left Inside Safe because of their struggles with addiction and declining mental health.
LAHSA spokesman Ahmad Chapman said his agency didn’t know exactly if everyone who exited the Inside Safe program ended up back on the streets. He also warned that “not all temporary housing programs work for everyone.”
“Indoor transitions can be difficult and the first attempt is not always successful,” he said in an email.
Chapman said Inside Safe’s retention rate was consistent with results found at Bridge Home, a homeless shelter created during Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration. The facility can accommodate dozens of people, but residents don’t have their own rooms. The facilities had a retention rate of 79% in the first half of the year, he said.
In any transitional housing program, turnover rates are highest in the first few weeks after moving in, officials said.
Bitta Sharma, a volunteer with a mutual aid group that helps the homeless on the Westside, said she has long worried about the lack of resources provided by Inside Safe. Homeless people being moved indoors shouldn’t be “suffering from lack of services,” she said.
“If we want to stop the flow of people out of the program and stop having to serve people from the streets, we need to expand the program within the program,” she said.
Sharma also said LAHSA should not consider those who “have no roof over their heads” to participate in Inside Safe.
Bass said the Inside Safe temporary housing facility is working to provide a wide range of services, including medical teams, addiction specialists and organizations to help homeless residents find jobs. rice field.
“They should have the opportunity to meet with a career counselor, and we are doing that,” she said. “Anything to get people back on their feet and on their feet.”
Since December, Inside Safe has conducted about 24 operations, sending personnel to homeless camps in Hollywood, Venice, Chatsworth, Downtown and many other areas. Earlier this year, the city council approved his $250 million program for the current budget year.
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By mid-July, the program had billed a total of 57,533 nights from 38 motels and hotels, according to one source. report The head of the city’s budget office announced this week. The program has a temporary housing stock of just over 1,100 units, according to the report.
Of the 1,463 people who have been served by Inside Safe so far, 1,105 are now living in temporary housing, most of them in motels, according to the LAHSA report.
A further 108 people (about 7%) have moved into permanent housing so far, officials said. The majority rely on “limited time” apartment subsidies, which can last up to 24 months and can be extended further.
Ten people have entered permanent supportive housing, according to InsideSafe’s dashboard.
Three weeks ago, City Councilman Bob Blumenfield was struck down by the fact that few Inside Safe attendees were moving into permanent housing, even though the city hosted housing fairs and other events. expressed concern.
Bass said her office has begun hiring its own team of outreach staff to more closely track the needs of those attending Inside Safe. The mayor is also calling for changes to federal rules that allow government agencies to move people into permanent housing before they are financially fully qualified.
