Mayor Garcetti Lobbies For State Funding To Fight Homelessness

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joined mayors from California's 10 other largest cities Wednesday in Sacramento to voice support for legislation that would allocate $1.5 billion from the state budget to combat homelessness.

"Cities are on the front lines in the fight against homelessness, and Los Angeles is already investing billions of dollars to get people off the streets," Garcetti said. "But we can't do it alone -- AB 3171 would give us the state funding we need to get all of our unsheltered into homes as soon as possible."

AB 3171 is scheduled for its first legislative hearing on April 25 before the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee. The bill was authored by Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, and Sen. Ricardo Lara, D- Bell Gardens, is its principal co-author.

California's homeless population stands at 134,278, according to 2017 statewide counts. Los Angeles' transient population increased by 20 percent last year, to more than 34,000.

AB 3171 would support permanent housing, rental assistance, triage shelters and other services through a matching funds system that would result in $3 billion in funding statewide, Garcetti's office said.

``Tens of thousands of people are living on the streets in California cities, creating a humanitarian and public safety crisis that shocks the conscience and diminishes cities' economic vitality," Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. ``While the state has taken some steps to help, cities still lack the resources to make a demonstrable difference."

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock / Srdjan Randjelovi