Over 335 Homeless People In Los Angeles Housed since June

LOS ANGELES, CA — More than 335 unhoused residents in Los Angeles have left the streets and entered housing since June, according to a new report from the city.

That number includes 20 people previously living within 500 feet of a freeway, 36 people 65 or over, and 282 otherwise vulnerable people from June 16 to Thursday.

The report is the first since city and county officials freed up 6,700 beds for the city's most vulnerable residents after resolving a deadlock that had stopped progress. According to a binding term sheet, the city is responsible for creating 5,300 beds by April and 6,000 by December 2021.

To assist in funding services for the 6,000 new beds, the county will pay the city up to $60 million per year for five years. The county will pay to the city a one-time bonus of $8 million if the 5,300 new bed target is reached within 10 months.

Many have stressed the need for more urgent action, especially with colder weather on the horizon during the holiday season and Christmas. "Both governments need to act now," U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. wrote. "History should not be doomed to repeat itself here, and the court is committed to ensuring that the city and county work together" to bring the homeless off the streets."

Efforts such as Project Roomkey, an ambitious plan to provide 15,000 hotel rooms to people experiencing homelessness, stuttered and faltered after negotiating issues, resident pushback and other roadblocks. The project peaked at 4,177 available beds in early September, a number which is now declining as funding begins to dry up.

“There were aspects that I think were a huge success,” Sarah Dusseault of Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority told the LA Times in September. “Housing that many people in a short period of time, I think that is extremely successful. Nothing on that scale has ever been attempted before.”