L.A. leaders threw themselves into battle Recent efforts to combat homelessness have continued to increase spending on programs aimed at pulling the city’s most needy residents back from the brink.

Elected officials celebrated the opening of new homeless shelters, cut a ribbon outside a dozen “tiny house” villages, and welcomed the completion of nearly 3,000 subsidized apartments. Some of the homes were paid for in a $1.2 billion property tax hike. Passed by voters.

But those efforts weren’t enough to change the bleak picture shown by officials with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority on Thursday, who said despite these efforts, homeless numbers were down 10% citywide. , reported a 9% increase across Los Angeles. county.

Politicians, business leaders and others in the region responded with a mixture of frustration, disappointment and even moments of anger.

Councilman Tracy Park, who represents parts of Westside, said the city relies on “wrong policies” and dedicates too little resources to substance abuse and mental health issues. .

“Obviously what we’ve been doing hasn’t worked,” she said. “Despite billions of dollars spent on this problem over the last few years, we have failed to address the growing number of encampments on the streets.”

What one city councilor called “devastating” homelessness figures are now commonplace. The city has recorded an increase in seven of the last eight annual tallies, even though its annual budget to address the problem exceeds $1 billion.

Mayor Karen Bass, who declared a state of emergency over homelessness on her inauguration day in December, tried to set some optimistic themes on Thursday, moving some 1,400 homeless Angeleno residents indoors. He touted the achievements of the Inside Safe Initiative and the newfound cooperation between the two countries. city ​​and county officials;

But Bass also worries that the expiration of local eviction protections and the termination of various COVID-19 relief programs will push more of the area’s low-income residents onto the streets, telling himself also expressed concerns. .

“Even considering all the things we’re working on now, I’m afraid that number will be even higher next year,” she told reporters.

Dire numbers of homeless people have put Bass, Park and other recently elected City Hall politicians in a strange position, forcing them to respond to figures gathered just six weeks into office. there is The homeless count survey was conducted in January, when Bus was just beginning to step up its crisis-fighting efforts, taking Inside Safe to several locations around the city.

In the months since the tally was taken, Bass has approved a record $1.3 billion in spending to fight the homeless as part of the city’s budget, which goes into effect Saturday. At least $250 million of that will go to Inside Safe.

At the same time, the latest tally may provide Mr. Bass with new arguments. Bass is calling on other city officials to act with greater urgency, to take on new government responsibilities and to invest more money in the problem than ever before.

Bass recently persuaded the city council to back her initiative to pay for treatment beds for homeless people suffering from substance use disorders. This service is typically provided by the county, not the city. She plans to buy the 15-story Mayfair Hotel, which she hopes will serve as temporary housing for the homeless. And she’s laying the groundwork for the purchase of several small motels that also support the Inside Safe initiative.

The mayor’s team is working on renting and buying hotels and motels, but homeless advocates are calling for the city to focus on other strategies instead.

Sherin Belgians, organizer of the Koreatown-based group Ktown for All, said the city was focusing too much on reducing the visual impact of the homeless, citing measures such as Inside Safe. criticized for relying on programs. Her group has called for additional tenant protection and the creation of new public housing.

“Everything we’ve seen has been a band-aid solution,” she said.

Dennis Kuniter, policy manager for the Los Angeles County Business Federation, expressed confidence in Bass, saying he has been more focused on homelessness than his predecessor.

Still, given this year’s numbers, city and county leaders need to reassess their homelessness programs, Kuniter said.

“There’s been a lot of money put into homeless aid funds, but some of those programs are clearly more effective than others,” Kuniter said.

City councilor Nitya Raman, who heads the city council’s homelessness committee, said the latest figures, while disappointing, were “not completely shocking,” given what had happened leading up to this year’s homelessness figures. No,’ he said.

For most of last year, city and county leaders continued to shut down Project RoomKey sites — hotels that were converted into temporary housing for the homeless with federal funding during the pandemic. At its peak, the program offered him over 4,300 rooms.

Raman successfully saved one of the hotels in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood as temporary housing for the homeless. However, other locations such as Chinatown and MacArthur Park have been discontinued.

“Due to COVID-19, we lost some of our shelter resources and most places were unable to replenish them,” Raman said.

Los Angeles City Councilman Nitya Raman draws a link between the reported rise in homelessness in 2020 and the closure of many of the hotel’s Project Room Keysights, which were used as temporary housing for the homeless during the pandemic. rice field.

(Los Angeles Times)

The city may soon receive a different kind of support from the federal government.

Last month, Los Angeles was one of five cities selected by the White House to participate in a new two-year federal program for the homeless called All Inside. The effort is part of President Biden’s goal to reduce homelessness in the U.S. by 25% by 2025, according to Bass’ team, and is part of a bureaucracy that prevents homeless people from getting assistance. The focus is partly on reducing

LA should also experience some relief as additional projects funded by Proposition HHH, a voter-approved bond measure of 2016, continue to start. A report released last month by the city’s housing department said the 5,700 homes funded by the measure are expected to be completed in the next two years.

Despite the worsening homelessness problem, city and county voters generally support new efforts to address the homelessness crisis.

In 2017, county voters passed Bill H, which would increase sales tax on apartment vouchers and social service payments for homeless residents. Last fall, city voters introduced a so-called mansion tax. This could generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually, but is currently the subject of challenges in court.

It is not at all clear whether the public will continue to be tolerant. Los Angeles county superintendent Kathryn Berger, who stretches from Gorman in the northwest to Claremont in the east, said the latest homeless numbers should serve as a “wake-up call.”

Berger said many cities in the county were unhappy with how the county’s program H spent money, which expires in four years and cannot be renewed without voter approval.

“Don’t get me wrong. If Bill H were put before voters tomorrow, it would fail,” she said. “Because people don’t feel like they’re getting their money’s worth.”

Downtown city councilman Kevin De Leon called the citywide homeless numbers “horrible” and said they underscored the need for more affordable temporary housing. De León believes these numbers will bolster efforts to build a small home village or another type of temporary homeless housing on the empty lot next to Grand Park across from City Hall.

“We have researched the issue thoroughly and the answer has always been the same: more housing as soon as possible,” he said.