Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has reported a significant uptick in permanent housing move-ins, with figures nearly doubling compared to the year before she took office. In a statement released by her office, the number of Angelenos who moved into temporary housing stood at over 23,000, marking a considerable increase from the previous year. The Bass administration's comprehensive approach to the city's homelessness crisis is being credited for the first decline in homelessness Los Angeles has seen in years, including a 10% reduction in street homelessness.
"The old ways of managing the crisis instead of solving it are over," Mayor Bass proclaimed, outlining policy changes and innovative partnerships aimed at building housing faster and more cost-effectively. A first-of-its-kind partnership with philanthropy is among the new initiatives launched, with the goal of opening more housing at a lower cost to taxpayers. Despite being struck by a 75% drop in project application wait times, the city is accelerating the development of more than 25,000 units of affordable housing, according to the Mayor's office.
Efforts to utilize available federal resources more effectively have also seen an increase in delivering on the promise of utilizing housing vouchers. Over 4,000 individuals made use of 3,365 Emergency Housing Vouchers this year. Notably, these resources had gone unused in previous years, leading to tragic outcomes and, at times, the return of federal funding to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mayor Bass' office also emphasized the expansion of street medicine services, where USC Street Medicine added a full-time nurse and anticipates a full-time Physician Assistant come January 2025. These initiatives, intended to help those transitioning from streets to stability, have already resulted in over 12,000 patient visits. The administration's partnership with animal services provided crucial vaccines and microchips for pets, eliminating one key barrier preventing some Angelenos from leaving the streets, as reported by the Mayor's office.
In a move to increase employment amongst those rehoused, the Mayor's Office Job Connectors program has aided over 100 formerly homeless individuals in securing jobs. The Comcast-funded initiative has expanded to offer job training, support, and other crucial services in an effort to ensure individuals not only find housing but also retain their self-sufficiency and dignity.
Meanwhile, policy changes continue to unravel bureaucratic red tape, with Mayor Bass securing waivers and enshrining policy into law, such as SB 1500, to make housing more accessible. Executive Directive 1 (ED1) has notably shortened permit approval wait times by a staggering 75%, sitting in line with Bass' initiative to deliver affordable housing more rapidly.
To prevent homelessness before it begins, the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles has provided eviction defense and support for those at risk. The collaborative effort between multiple partners has served vulnerable populations including veterans and domestic violence survivors. Wrapping up the year with the inauguration of LA4LA, a public-private partnership, the Mayor's office aims to continue this momentum into the new year, leveraging business, development, and philanthropy to combat the city's housing crisis holistically.
