U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge visited Los Angeles on Thursday, June 2 to get a first-hand look at the city’s homelessness crisis and how federal dollars are being used to address it.
“Tackling the homelessness crisis through a Housing First approach is a top priority. At HUD, we are focused on ensuring that people have safe, stable, accessible housing and supportive services. Together we have an opportunity to solve this crisis and help people , who suffer from living with health, hope and dignity, ”Fudge said in a statement prior to the meeting.
Fudge went to LA at the request of Representative Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, Bass, who is running for mayor in Tuesday’s primary election but hosted the event in her capacity as congresswoman to show Fudge the urgent need for additional housing assistance, according to Bass’ office.
The trip, which included visits to housing facilities receiving federal funding, focused on the need for Section 8 housing coupons and more low-income and moderate housing units.
Fudge also met with housing and service providers.
Fudge spoke to reporters and insisted that the federal government work to resolve the issue in Los Angeles, which she described as “the epicenter of homelessness.”
More than 66,433 people experienced homelessness in Los Angeles County during the most recent census in January 2020, with 41,290 identified in the city. The 2021 census was canceled due to COVID-19, and the 2022 census took place in February, with results expected over the summer.
The homelessness crisis in Los Angeles and across California has been at the center of many races during the primary election season – especially in LA’s mayoral campaign.
Not far from Fudge’s tour, Mayor Eric Garcetti signed a $ 11.8 billion budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, with a 6.5% increase for the Los Angeles Police Department – as well as another year’s historic spending of more than $ 1 billion dollars related to homelessness.
As the police budget increased, the overall city budget also expanded funding for alternatives to policing, including more than doubling the CIRCLE initiative – launched last year in Venice and Hollywood, sending homeless service teams with Urban Alchemy to non-violent 911 calls concerning the homeless – from $ 3 million to $ 8 million.
The revised budget also includes more than $ 1 billion in spending that the city is considered to be related to the homelessness crisis, including $ 377 million for permanent housing, $ 208 million for the Project Homekey program, $ 17 million for temporary housing and more than $ 50 million. million dollars for support services.
The budget would also expand the city’s comprehensive cleaning and rapid engagement (CARE / CARE +) program, which cleans camps from 22 to 28 teams and doubles the staff responsible for illegal dumping and cleanup of large items.
Earlier this week, City Inspector Ron Galperin launched an online platform describing the scale of the city’s homelessness crisis and how the city’s efforts to deal with it are progressing.
Galperin’s “Housing and Homelessness Hub” includes a map with data from the city and county’s most recent number of homeless people by 2020, a map of temporary housing solutions and a map of permanent supportive housing developments built through Proposition HHH.
People can also see charts of public spending on the crisis, different years of homelessness census results, mortality for homeless people, housing progress surveys, and the impact that homelessness has on colored communities.
California pledged nearly $ 8 billion over the next year on projects related to dealing with homelessness, while the city of Los Angeles will spend about $ 1.16 billion.
People who experience homelessness or are at risk of becoming homeless can also find resources for food, rent protection, mental health and substance abuse treatment, assistance with domestic violence and more on the platform.
“While local governments and the state of California are spending billions on solving the homelessness crisis, it has remained frustratingly challenging to find accurate information about the problem, track progress on solutions, and make resources available to help people in need,” Galperin said. “My new homelessness and housing hub centralizes data from multiple government entities and agencies in one place and connects users to useful services. People deserve resources that are easy to use and understand and that promote greater transparency and accountability.”
The hub can be found at https://bit.ly/3MbllS2.
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