New L.A. Mayor Bass declares state of emergency on homelessness in first official act
In a 9 a.m. news conference Monday, newly inaugurated Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass officially declared a state of emergency on homelessness.
Bass said the declaration would streamline efforts to address the issue, calling it a "seismic shift."
"I will not accept a homelessness crisis that afflicts more than 40,000 individuals and affects every one of us," Bass said from the Los Angeles Emergency Operations Center.
She said she intends to sign a series of executive orders targeting homelessness in the coming days.
Bass said she's already met with heads of city departments, homeless-services providers and L.A. Metro to get their collective work going. Her transition team says there will be daily meetings with a coalition of leaders.
The declaration unlocks state and federal resources and cuts red tape, which will allow work to be done quickly, like taking whole encampments off the streets, placing those communities in rented hotels immediately, and working to get the unhoused from temporary housing into long-term solutions.
Bass said the city will take an aggressive approach to providing temporary housing by leasing apartments and hotel rooms.
Bass promised another news briefing soon with more details about what she called "Inside Safe," the program that will be tasked with bringing people off streets in the most vulnerable areas quickly. She expects funds of under $100 million to be needed.
A member of Bass's transition team says they expect to meet for the first time at the Emergency Operations Center at 1 p.m. Monday. The team member said the L.A. City Council will need to approve the emergency declaration every month to keep it going. At this point the team is planning out for at least six months.
Monday's declaration was Bass's first official action after she was sworn in on Sunday, Dec. 11 by Vice President Kamala Harris.
The homelessness issue encompasses more than 40,000 people living in encampments and vehicles in neighborhoods across Los Angeles.
Bass said in her inauguration speech on Sunday that the many separate arms of government must come together to confront homelessness.
"We must have a single strategy" bringing together "government, the private sector and other stakeholders," Bass said, calling it her mission as mayor.