The Board of Supervisors want to rapidly re-house the homeless as Los Angeles braces for what is being hailed the ‘Godzilla of El Niño’s’. Agreeing yesterday to spend $15 million to get the homeless off the streets and assist families on the brink of living on the streets.
“With the harsh winter months approaching, and predictions of a severe El Nino season, there is a sense of urgency and a moral imperative to act now,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas
Along with Supervisor Michael Antonovich, Ridley-Thomas advised against waiting until February for the results of a strategic plan on homelessness.
In the coming months the county had planned summits with public and private stakeholders in hope of developing a comprehensive strategy for addressing homelessness.
However, Antonovich and Ridley-Thomas said that in the meantime money needed to keep families from ending up on the streets is running low.
The board unanimously approved funding three separate strategies out of the county’s $101 million Homeless Prevention Initiative:
$10 million for rapid re-housing of single adults who are not
chronically homeless; $3 million to house homeless families with children; and $2 million to assist families on the brink of homelessness.
“These strategies have been proven to prevent and end homelessness and would allow the county to make a more immediate and substantive impact in areas with the highest need,” Ridley-Thomas said.
Advocates for the homeless praised the board’s move. Stressing that there was a critical need to get people off the streets before the winter months.
Homelessness in Los Angeles is estimated to have risen by more than 12 percent in the last two years.
