10 ideas for fixing Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis
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Los Angeles has a homeless problem. As of 2016, the city’s homeless population was more than 4,000. There were 1,834 people living on the street in 2014 according to the LA Citywide Homelessness and Eviction Study conducted by the UCLA School of Law. Since then, that number has steadily increased, a fact that is also reflected in the LA Weekly’s homeless census of April 2017.
Los Angeles homelessness rose from 14% to 20% of the population. This alarming growth was also seen in the other major cities in the state. According to the New York Times, homelessness is up 25% in New York City and 19% in San Francisco. In California, homelessness is more than double the national average and has been on the rise for three years.
In an effort to combat the problem, L.A.’s Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council formed the West Regional Task Force on Homelessness. The Council passed an initiative that would help prevent homelessness by dedicating $50 million in federal funds and create new city services to help provide services such as mental health treatment and emergency shelters for those experiencing homelessness. The budget also allocated $500 million in bonds towards this initiative.
With the influx of federal funds, the mayor has used his position to build on this initiative. The Department of Homelessness and Community Development now has more than 300 full-time employees and a budget of over $200 million. In an effort to combat the increasing number of homeless in Los Angeles, the mayor implemented the Homeless Prevention Initiative, a program that was originally created to find the cause of homelessness.
To combat this growing problem, it will be necessary to adopt a holistic approach to help the homeless in Los Angeles. In this article, we are going to discuss some of the ideas that will help fix Los Angeles’ homeless problem.
1. Create an Emergency Shelter Program
In our effort to improve services for the homeless, the homeless can receive much-needed assistance. With the increased emphasis on the reduction of homelessness, it is vital that the city’s homeless population is taken care of. Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States after New York City.
As the mayor has said, he is “concerned about the homeless population in Los Angeles.” The issue of homelessness is extremely complex. It is not a matter