In a notable stride toward addressing Los Angeles' homeless crisis, Mayor Karen Bass announced the full use of 3,365 emergency housing vouchers, marking a crucial step in providing permanent shelter to the city's unhoused population.
This accomplishment follows concerted efforts by Mayor Bass and the City Council to enhance the functionality of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), including staffing increases and a shift in operational priorities, as stated on the Mayor's official website. Furthermore, the state granted an additional $7.2 million in funding for interim housing, totaling 367 new units against a massive $105.8 million funding backdrop.
Today's agenda for Mayor Bass and City Council members consists of meetings with state leaders in Sacramento, focused on securing further funding and flexibility to leverage against the homelessness crisis and expedite responses to past emergencies such as the COVID-19 outbreak and recent severe storms. "Our priority always has to be to save lives, and when we work together, across all levels of government, we can make real progress. With more than 40,000 unhoused Angelenos on our streets, it was unacceptable that we had voucher holders unable to come inside," Mayor Bass told the public.
Last week, a collaboration between the City and Hope the Mission led to a $7,158,774 fund allocation to transform a motel into 22 interim housing units for vulnerable youth, complementing the seven projects already financed for HACLA and the Los Angeles Housing Department. In addition to Bass's strides, Senator Alex Padilla and Congressman Ted Lieu backed the "Housing for All Act", aiming to substantially bolster federally funded housing vouchers for LA, "It’s imperative that we take advantage of every state and federal resource on the table and leave no rock unturned," Councilmember Bob Blumenfield emphasized, Chair of the City Council's Budget, Finance and Innovation Committee.
Meanwhile, Councilmember Nithya Raman reflected on the urgency of utilizing the Emergency Housing Vouchers effectively, stating, "When I took over as Chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee, Emergency Housing Vouchers granted to the City of Los Angeles were in danger of going unused, something that is unacceptable in our current crisis," according to the Mayor's office.
