LA To Devote $430 Million To Fighting ‘Humanitarian Crisis’ Of Homelessness
Mayor Eric Garcetti's plan includes investing millions of dollars in trailers and other temporary housing, along with more funding for sanitation crews. Media outlets look at the issue across California.
The Associated Press:
Los Angeles Plans To Double Spending On Homeless Crisis
Just steps from City Hall’s main door, a homeless woman sprawls on a cardboard box spread across the lawn, her belongings stuffed into a battered shopping cart beside her. Within a short walk, rows of tents line the streets, creating makeshift encampments edged by piles of trash. The smell of urine is unmistakable. (Blood, 4/16)
KPCC:
'It's Nowhere Near Enough': LA Homeless Advocates React To Mayor's Shelter Plan
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has a new plan to try to solve the city's homeless crisis. Garcetti would like to spread temporary shelters across the city, placing one in each of L.A.'s 15 council districts. There's also a promise of more enforcement to keep the areas near those shelters clear of homeless encampments. It's an ambitious plan with a $20 million price tag. Andy Bales is CEO of the Union Rescue Mission. The mayor's proposal is a good first step, Bales said, but more needs to be done. (Henderson, 4/16)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
LA County To Pay Homeowners To Create Housing For The Homeless
In an attempt to alleviate the soaring homelessness problem in Los Angeles County, officials want to pay homeowners to house people by building new living units or bringing existing dwellings up to code if they are in violation. It's part of a $550,000 pilot program launched by the LA Community Development Commission to explore new ways to safely and at a relatively low cost, provide housing options for handful of the county's nearly 60,000 homeless residents. (Romo, 4/13)
KPCC:
Los Angeles Housing Crisis: Working But On The Brink Of Homelessness
Family photos, Bible verse decals and wedding mementos adorn Jimmy Mejia and Patty Garrido's living room walls in South Los Angeles. Despite their efforts, the decorations can't mask the unpatched holes in the ceiling and the roaches that crawl around their kitchen. In one corner, there's a hole where the drywall caved in after a recent storm. "The heater doesn't work, so in the winter it's really hard; it gets really cold here," Mejia said. (Siegler and Wang, 4/16)
Sacramento Bee:
Why Are Schools In Sacramento Seeing More Homeless Kids?
A growing number of children who attend Sacramento County public schools are homeless or living in unstable housing conditions, new figures show. At a time when affordable housing is scarce and and rents are high, the number of students without a stable place to sleep surged 15 percent last year, and has risen more than 20 percent since 2011, according to data collected by school districts in the county. (Hubert, 4/17)