Los Angeles County has recently undertaken a significant effort to address homelessness along the San Gabriel River, which runs through the cities of Bellflower, Downey, and Norwalk. The latest operation of the county's Pathway Home program successfully transitioned more than 60 individuals from encampments to interim housing, intending to eventually secure permanent homes for them. Supervisor Janice Hahn said, as stated by the County of Los Angeles, "We have mobilized an enormous amount of staff and resources to ensure everyone who has been displaced or lost their home has shelter -- and frankly we need to bring that same sense of urgency to our longstanding homelessness crisis."
In a collaborative effort reported by Los Angeles County's news release, the LA County Homeless Initiative cooperated with local governments and various departments to carry out the two-day operation on January 15 and 16. The drive, which is part of a larger movement to clear encampments and safeguard communities from hazards such as flood channels, was said to not detract from county resources dedicated to contending with the recent outbreak of wildfires.
The initiative is part of the larger LA County Homeless Initiative-led program designed to address homelessness through local, interim solutions like motels before transitioning residents to more stable settings. Since August 2023, Pathway Home has already facilitated the housing of over 1,000 county residents, with more than 200 achieving permanent housing status, and removed 624 RVs from Los Angeles streets. "This Pathway Home Operation along the riverbed in Downey, Bellflower, and Norwalk is one of the largest encampment resolutions we have conducted yet and it wouldn't have been possible without the partnership and cooperation of leaders in each of these cities," Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement.
Key to the success of this intervention were the organizations such as The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and PATH, which had developed trustful relationships with the unsheltered residents. Measurements of the program's progress include the Downey, Norwalk, and Bellflower operation, which marks the 30th Pathway Home encampment resolution. Starting July 1, the operations will be funded through Measure A, a tax approved by voters as a replacement for Measure H, which has so far helped place over 115,000 people into permanent housing and connected 151,000 people with temporary housing, according to the aforementioned county news release.
