Upcoming evictions raise concerns about the fight against homelessness in LA
While proud of the strides her administration has made in tackling homelessness, Mayor Karen Bass raised concerns about evictions driving the number of unhoused residents up.
"Our big, big concern right now is that we may have another spike in homelessness because of the risk of eviction and the risk of people sliding into homelessness," she said. "We also have thousands of units that have expiring covenants. And then, of course, the affordable housing supply overall.
Bass raised her concerns during a roundtable with city and county homeless outreach leaders. Also during the meeting, she touted her administration's successes and the progress in her signature program. "Inside Safe." According to the mayor, her administration has carried out 13 homeless outreach operations, placing 62 people in permanent supportive housing and bringing 516 into temporary housing — all during her first 100 days in office.
Bass added that there have been no arrests in the efforts and that crews have cleared 150,000 pounds of waste during the cleanups.
"I think we're moving in the right direction," said Veronica Lewis with Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System.
HOPICS is a homeless outreach and advocacy agency that helps shelter homeless residents in South LA and surrounding communities.
Lewis added that the state of emergency in the city and county has helped cut through the bureaucracy that typically hinders outreach efforts.
"There's a lot of bureaucracy, there's a lot of policies and procedures that a lot of people recognize don't make sense," she said. "I think that what's been most hopeful to me is that we are starting to see shifts in some of those policies and practices."
Lewis said that her team has moved 151 people, including about 30 children, from five encampments into shelters.
Bass said the city has enacted protections for tenants to avoid the eviction process, hoping it will help avert a setback in the homeless outreach efforts.
Tens of thousands of homeless residents remain on the streets of LA with drug use and mental health issues remaining a pervasive problem.