By Rachel Lampert
Southern California for many years has struggled with the unhoused community. Los Angeles has devised a plan to put this idea into action. Homelessness has had greater issues and is continuing to get worse over time. According to a spreadsheet constructed by city housing officials, it would cost approximately 20.4 billion dollars for homelessness to be finally fixed. Los Angeles Times – Liam Dillion and Doug Smith say. “The money would produce 36,000 permanent housing units for homeless residents with chronic health needs and build or subsidize 25,000 additional apartments for very low-income residents.” Including another 17,000 beds with alongside additional housing until 2029 before slowing the process down.
For instance, in the year 2032, there are hopes for homelessness to decrease drastically. Dillion and Smith also state. “That means episodes of homelessness are rare and brief and anyone who needs a shelter bed — the city and private missions and other providers would maintain 6,000 per the analysis — can access one.” Los Angeles is predominantly one of these places that is attempting to put forth these efforts. Within Los Angeles alone there is around 45,000 individuals who are unhoused and around 29,000 who are considered to be unsheltered. Ann Sewill – the Housing Department’s general manager said. “The purpose was to provide a thorough, detailed, data-driven analysis of the housing resources, needs, and housing gap, and determine what mix of investments could close the gap over 10 years.” She stated in a proposal.
More and more public officials are getting involved. Miguel Santana president and chief executive of the California Community Foundation also one of the leaders of the effort is tirelessly working on finding a structured plan to get back on track. He says, “What has been missing in all of this is an endgame.” He mentions we need to come together as a community so therefore everyone has somewhere to feel both safe and secure. If you’re experiencing homelessness please reach out to Harbor Care Center (818) 925-1451 or Dream Center (213) 273-7000.
References:
Dream Center. (n.d.). Transforming lives. https://www.dreamcenter.org/
Harbor Care Foundation. (n.d.). About. https://www.harborcares.org/about/
Homelessness solutions investment strategy. (n.d.). https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/4e/bc/52dd6ac8494e94a3577ef16f4a22/homelessness-solutions-investment-strategy-10-year-model.pdf
Dillon, L., & Smith, D. (2024, September 13). The under-the-radar proposal to end homelessness in Los Angeles for $20 billion. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2024-09-13/los-angeles-homeless-proposal-20-billion
Smith, D., & Zahniser, D. (2024, June 28). For the first time since 2018, homeless count finds fewer people living on L.A. streets. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-06-28/for-the-first-time-since-2018-homelessness-remained-flat-in-los-angeles-county