Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declares homelessness an emergency

One of the first things Karen Bass did as mayor of Los Angeles was to declare homelessness a state of emergency for the city.

She visited the city’s emergency operations center on Monday to make it official.

According to a statement from Bass’ office, the announcement “will acknowledge the magnitude of the crisis in Los Angeles and break new ground in maximizing the ability to relocate personnel on an emergency basis.”

Homelessness in Los Angeles

At least 41,980 people were homeless in the city of Los Angeles during this year’s three-day study, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Administration’s (LAHSA) Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.

The same study found that at least 69,144 people were homeless in Los Angeles County.

The data shows that since 2020, the number of homeless people in Los Angeles County has increased by 4.1%, and the number of homeless people in Los Angeles County has increased by 1.7% compared to 2020.

According to LAHSA, local COVID-era policies such as eviction moratoriums and rental assistance, as well as federal assistance have helped people stay home throughout the pandemic.

However, many of these policies have ended or are about to end, leaving people unoccupied and people facing housing insecurity without a safety net, LAHSA reported.

Bath records on homelessness

In her mayoral campaign, Bass pledged to “house 15,000 people by the end of the first year, dramatically reduce street homelessness, end street camps,” and “lead the way in mental health and substance abuse treatment,” according to the campaign website. wrote on.

Earlier this year, as a House representative, Bass helped secure multimillion-dollar funding for programs that provide long-term housing for homeless Angelenos, supporting housing for the homeless and insecure Vocational training and professional development programs.

She also supports funding for substance abuse programs, including inpatient and outpatient comprehensive counseling and substance treatment services, and funding to reunite families in the Asian American Substance Abuse Prevention Program/

“These investments to combat homelessness, improve community safety, and help families cope with the rising cost of living in our congressional districts come at a critical time,” Bass said in a March statement. With these new grants at this level, we have to make sure they reach our communities as quickly as possible.”