Mayor Bass, L.A. City Council take steps to address homelessness crisis
The sidewalks along Venice's Rose Avenue and Hampton Drive are empty Wednesday morning. It's all a part of a bigger homeless discussion happening Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
The empty sidewalks represent an early victory for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass's plan to tackle homelessness. Until last week, the area held a sprawling tent encampment, one of the city's oldest. But it has been completely cleared and power-washed.
Approximately 100 people living in the encampment have been placed in housing.
Wednesday, L.A. City Council members are expected to create a homelessness fund of about $50 million to help push the mayor's Inside Safe program, addressing one encampment at a time.
Mayor Bass is in D.C. Wednesday with other mayors to discuss securing federal support.
Tuesday, Bass and other county leaders got a federal judge to extend talks with downtown residents who sued over what has been, they claim, a lax response by local officials to the homelessness crisis.
The judge approved the city's part of the settlement last year, but said the county's pledge for 300 additional beds for people with mental and substance abuse disorders fell short. U.S. District Judge David Carter gave the parties 90 days to refashion this settlement. The judge was frustrated by the lack of a provision for judicial oversight, and wants to see that added, because while early victories are encouraging, maintaining them will be difficult.