LA City Council Approves $5 Million For Program To House Boardwalk Residents

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - The Los Angeles City Council Thursday allocated $5 million to pay for interim housing for about 200 people who live in encampments along Ocean Front Walk in Venice and are being offered a pathway to permanent housing through Councilman Mike Bonin's "Encampment to Home" program.

The program had brought 50 people inside as of Wednesday, Bonin said in a Twitter post. About 19 of them were brought inside before the program's official start on Monday, as St. Joseph Center teams began outreach on June 21.

"When we passed this ordinance today, we took back the ability to control our streets, but we did it in a way that's not going to be punitive to people for merely being homeless," said Paul Krekorian, LA City Councilmember.

The St. Joseph Center was contracted to outreach and offer housing, shelter and services to the people who live in the boardwalk encampments, which have proliferated amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who do not accept housing have to leave the area by a certain date, Bonin's office said, but it was not clear how that will be enforced.

On Monday morning, Bonin announced that outreach workers began last week and moved 19 people indoors.

"The Venice Beach Encampment to Home program is moving people indoors and on a path to permanent housing. There's a right way to confront our homelessness crisis -- it starts with housing and services," he said.

Outcry about the homelessness crisis in the area has been a factor in a recall effort begun against Bonin this month. The councilman has contrasted his voluntary approach to housing the area's homeless population to that taken by Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who has sent deputies to Venice in an effort to clear the encampments by July 4.

"I support certain aspects of this ordinance, I also have serious concerns," said Nithya Raman, LA City Councilmember. "We are really focused on setting out rules for where people can be and can't be without having a clear plan at all for how we're going to enforce those rules."

The process to offer shelter to the boardwalk's unhoused residents will take about six weeks, and each week the outreach teams will focus on a different section of Ocean Front Walk, according to Bonin.

During outreach for a particular zone, the unhoused residents will be given a choice of either accepting housing or moving out of that zone.

Over the six-week period, as people are given housing and leave the encampments, the Bureau of Sanitation will clean the area. Bonin said in an email to constituents that his office -- with assistance from Mayor Eric Garcetti, Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas and county Supervisor Sheila Kuehl -- identified permanent housing options including Project Homekey, shared housing and permanent housing vouchers.

Aside from the $5 million allocated Thursday for interim housing, funds for permanent housing will come from resources already available, according to Bonin's office. The motion also instructs the city administrative officer and the chief legislative analyst to report on the likely total cost of the program.

Bonin said it may take time to place the unhoused Venice residents into the permanent housing options, particularly through the voucher program, as the city must identify willing landlords and available units.

In the interim, temporary housing will be given, including up to six months of motel placements, which is the most commonly requested form of temporary housing, Bonin said.

Bonin's initiative's partners include People Assisting the Homeless, Safe Place for Youth, Venice Family Clinic, Self Help and Recovery Exchange and CLARE Matrix. Participating government agencies include the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the Public Health, Mental Health and Recreation & Parks departments and the Bureau of Sanitation.

The Los Angeles Police Department is aware and supportive of the program but is not involved in the rehousing effort, according to Bonin.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)