By Angela Hart
Los Angeles County homelessness leaders last year reported nearly 30,000 permanent housing placements – an annual high for the sprawling region of 10 million residents. Thousands more secured shelter and short-term housing. Gov. Gavin Newsom and local leaders celebrated the progress as evidence that an unprecedented multibillion-dollar public investment to move people off the streets was working.
Then the wildfires hit.
Early evidence suggests that the January disaster is reversing hard-fought gains in getting people into permanent housing. Local leaders note that as the devastating blazes displaced thousands, some who were just managing their bills and struggling to find affordable housing have now become homeless amid an already strained housing supply. “We’re already seeing some individuals have moved into their vehicles because they don’t have the funds to afford even temporary housing,” said Va Lecia Adams Kellum, CEO of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
Among those displaced was Alexandria Castaneda, 29, a previously homeless individual who lived at a sober-living home in Altadena known as Art House while recovering from a methamphetamine addiction. She and other residents evacuated safely but watched their two-story home burn on live television. The nonprofit that operates Art House is currently working to rehouse those affected. “It’s a constant stress of not knowing if I’m going to have a stable housing situation,” Castaneda stated, as she moved into temporary shelter post-fires.
Much of the progress Los Angeles County has achieved can be attributed to locally approved measures that have injected billions into housing endeavors, alongside the state’s staggering $27 billion investment to combat homelessness statewide. Local officials and state lawmakers insist that additional funding is necessary to address the homelessness crisis. However, these calls face political resistance demanding tangible results.
Newsom seeks accountability regarding the expenditure of homelessness funds. The governor, who has prioritized homelessness in his administration, expresses willingness to negotiate but insists on strict requirements for cities and counties to utilize the funding for clearing encampments and dismantling tents that clutter freeway underpasses, city sidewalks, and riverbeds. “Without a stronger emphasis on unsheltered homelessness, I am not inclined to continue supporting the funding to cities and counties,” Newsom declared in a Feb. 24 news conference. “We have been too permissive regarding encampments and tents.”
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