The hearings and mediations have been continuing. Last Thursday we were back in the LA City Council Chambers where the court held a status conference to get updates from City Councilmembers about the success they’ve made in fulfilling the City’s obligation to provide 6,000 new beds by April 2021. In addition to the ones already in the pipeline, that’s a total of 8,204 beds coming online within 18 months. The County also made its first payment of $17.66 million to the City to help pay for the cost of operating these new beds. Below is a link to the transcript for those who wish to read, along with the latest updates by the City and County.

This is great progress, and much more than the City of LA (or anywhere else in the nation) has ever done in such a short time. But it is a baby step in the greater picture. We are in negotiations with the City to ramp up production of beds and services coupled with humane and empathetic enforcement of the law. Shelter (more, better, faster, cheaper) should be available to those who need it, and it can no longer be acceptable in this great city to have people living—and dying—in the streets.

As we proceed, we are focusing on a broader district-by-district approach. The councilmembers, in conjunction with LAHSA, will assess the number of homeless individuals in their respective districts. Sites will be identified from a variety of sources (some public, some private). We need volunteers who can speak to their own community’s needs and placement availability. Please reach out to me directly at [email protected] if you are interested in participating in this manner, and please forward our request to your community contacts (both yours, and neighboring communities) who may be willing to serve in this role. We expect to be given short notice of proposed sites, and will need to respond quickly. Please note we’re interested in more sites, not less, so this is not a role for NIMBYs.

As always, thank you for your efforts to aid us in achieving our goals.

Don Steier

Chair, LA Alliance for Human Rights