15 min listen
The Homelessness Crisis in LA: How Did We Get Here?
FromHow To LA
ratings:
Length:
15 minutes
Released:
May 31, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
#108: It's no surprise that homeless is a top concern among Angelenos. The best-available info at this point says there are more than 69,000 people experiencing homeless in L.A. County – a 4% rise from the last time the survey was conducted in 2020.
In December, Mayor Karen Bass launched her signature program Inside Safe, which aims to give people living outdoors immediately housing in motels or hotels.
So far, the city has moved about 1200 people from encampments into housing under the program. But with tens of thousands still lacking permanent housing in LA, there’s still a long way to go.
Elected officials and local advocates have been trying to address the issues that lead to homelessness for years, but we’re still here…and many are wondering…how did we get here? How did LA end up with the largest unhoused population in the country? Who’s in charge of what? And how do people ACTUALLY get help?
To help make sense of it all, HTLA chats with LAist’s unhoused communities reporter Nick Gerda.
Guest: Nick Gerda, unhoused communities reporter for LAist
Wondering how you can help? Here are some tips from Nick's reporting on LAist:
Request homeless outreach services for a particular unhoused person: Contact LAHSA’s Homeless Outreach Portal. But it could take a few days for an outreach team to show up “due to high demand,” according to LAHSA.
Volunteer and donate to organizations serving unhoused people. Here’s LAHSA’s list of volunteer opportunities by region in L.A. County. And the city’s volunteer referral program: VolunteerLA. You can also volunteer for next year’s point-in-time count at TheyCountWillYou.org.
Support new affordable housing development in neighborhoods: The shortage of affordable housing is widely considered the main driver of the homelessness crisis. Developing more housing — especially affordable and permanent supportive homes — through faster city approvals and support from neighbors — is considered key to addressing the issue. If you want to help these efforts you can speak at public meetings.
Lease to voucher holders: Property owners can lease their vacant properties to people who have federal and local housing vouchers. L.A. County’s program to support landlords is called LeaseUp (more info available here).
For more, check out Nick’s guide to understanding homeless in LA.
In December, Mayor Karen Bass launched her signature program Inside Safe, which aims to give people living outdoors immediately housing in motels or hotels.
So far, the city has moved about 1200 people from encampments into housing under the program. But with tens of thousands still lacking permanent housing in LA, there’s still a long way to go.
Elected officials and local advocates have been trying to address the issues that lead to homelessness for years, but we’re still here…and many are wondering…how did we get here? How did LA end up with the largest unhoused population in the country? Who’s in charge of what? And how do people ACTUALLY get help?
To help make sense of it all, HTLA chats with LAist’s unhoused communities reporter Nick Gerda.
Guest: Nick Gerda, unhoused communities reporter for LAist
Wondering how you can help? Here are some tips from Nick's reporting on LAist:
Request homeless outreach services for a particular unhoused person: Contact LAHSA’s Homeless Outreach Portal. But it could take a few days for an outreach team to show up “due to high demand,” according to LAHSA.
Volunteer and donate to organizations serving unhoused people. Here’s LAHSA’s list of volunteer opportunities by region in L.A. County. And the city’s volunteer referral program: VolunteerLA. You can also volunteer for next year’s point-in-time count at TheyCountWillYou.org.
Support new affordable housing development in neighborhoods: The shortage of affordable housing is widely considered the main driver of the homelessness crisis. Developing more housing — especially affordable and permanent supportive homes — through faster city approvals and support from neighbors — is considered key to addressing the issue. If you want to help these efforts you can speak at public meetings.
Lease to voucher holders: Property owners can lease their vacant properties to people who have federal and local housing vouchers. L.A. County’s program to support landlords is called LeaseUp (more info available here).
For more, check out Nick’s guide to understanding homeless in LA.
Released:
May 31, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
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