Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, on her first day in office, declared a state of emergency to address the city’s out-of-control homelessness crisis, drawing praise from some advocates while others criticized the plan. for not addressing the root causes. Meanwhile, the mayor’s office is backing the move, telling Fox News Digital: “This is not rhetoric. This is action.”
Bass, who replaces Eric Garcetti, said the various arms of government, the private sector and other stakeholders must develop a “single approach” to deal with this problem.
Mayor Karen Bass answers questions from the media after declaring a state of emergency against homelessness at the city’s Emergency Operations Center, allowing her to take aggressive executive action to address the people crisis homeless in Los Angeles.
(Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Los Angeles’ budget for homelessness for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 was more than $1.1 billion, up from just over $800 million the previous fiscal year, according to the latest figures from the City’s Managing Officer.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) estimates that in 2022, about 41,980 people were left homeless on any given night in Los Angeles. That would suggest that the city spends a minimum of $27,835 per homeless person each year.
In some cases, that number has been higher. A city audit revealed earlier this year that costs for a housing project were spiraling out of control, reaching as much as $837,000 for each housing unit.
Many advocates hailed the mayor’s declaration of a state of emergency as a much-needed step in addressing the homelessness crisis.
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Anne Miskey, president and CEO of Union Station Homeless Services in Los Angeles, said she applauded Bass “for understanding the problem and showing her willingness to address the problem from day one.”
“While more is needed at the federal, state and local levels, this is a great first step in eliminating red tape and red tape to house all of our neighbors,” he said.
Gary Dean Painter, a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California and director of the Institute for Homeless Policy Research, said the city council’s approval of the statement “signals a strong consensus among various departments of the city that they must work together more effectively than in the past.”
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Even so, he warned that the details of this plan should be finalized in the coming months.
“It will be very important to specify the goals for the next six months so that short- and long-term actions to address homelessness are successful and so that our city government is transparent and accountable to the people,” he said.
David Hernandez, a 62-year-old homeless man, crawls into his bed made of cardboard boxes in Los Angeles on the night of Wednesday, December 14, 2022.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Elizabeth Bowen, an associate professor at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, said the mayor’s declaration of a state of emergency would only be effective if it allows the city to mobilize more resources for permanently affordable housing.
He argued that the root of the homelessness crisis is the current housing affordability crisis, “which is particularly exacerbated in Southern California.”
“Without significant investment in affordable housing, the success of policies to address homelessness is likely to be superficial or temporary,” he said.
“Without significant investment in affordable housing, the success of policies to address homelessness is likely to be superficial or temporary.”
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Christopher Hudson, a Salem State University professor who specializes in homelessness and mental health, told Fox News Digital that he applauded the mayor’s intent, but was skeptical about continuing to treat the homeless as a ” emergency” as it has been since the mid-1980s.
“Unfortunately, treating homelessness as an emergency too often has only led to an emphasis on shelters, which perpetuates the problem,” he said, noting that he didn’t see much new or original in Mayor Bass’s plan.
“She needs to come up with specific plans not just for the immediate ’emergency’ response, but to address the many systemic issues facing homelessness in Los Angeles,” he said.
A homeless man by his tent in Los Angeles on Wednesday, December 14, 2022.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A California law enforcement official familiar with the homelessness crisis told Fox News Digital that he doubts anything will change this time around and criticized previous administrations for failing to adequately address the problem.
“The fact is this. They have allowed homelessness and drug addiction to grow in numbers we have never seen before. Even if you were to build the Taj Mahal of homeless shelters, the community is so drugged that less 20% of them will actually use the facilities,” he said.
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The officer said many people choose to stay on the streets where they can “drink, get high, sell drugs, have sex in [their] tent” instead of staying in homeless shelters where they have to follow the rules.
“Homelessness is now a cancer that requires aggressive treatment. Until you ban camping and sleeping on the streets, nothing will change. Unfortunately, we have to make life on the streets uncomfortable and inconvenient, and basically force them to live in homeless shelters where services are available,” he said. “If declaring a state of emergency is the answer, why wasn’t it done during the Garcetti administration?”
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The Los Angeles Police Protective League said more officers would support the mayor’s statement if it provided “more tools to address this humanitarian crisis unfolding on our streets.”
“Creating 15,000 new shelter beds in one year will be a daunting task, and we stand ready to help the mayor implement a comprehensive approach to alleviate the misery the world sees on the streets of Los Angeles,” a spokesperson said.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who has spearheaded several initiatives to address homelessness in his own city, said red tape is a major obstacle to addressing the crisis.
“The challenge is bringing a county, a state, and in some cases a utility district, a water district or a transit agency, where you’re trying to get land so you can use it to build an emergency or transition center. , for example. You have to summon many others to address the problem, “said Mayor Liccardo. “And those agencies could be much, much less focused on that crisis than you are.”
A homeless person sleeps on a sidewalk in Los Angeles, Wednesday, December 14, 2022.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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To address the homelessness crisis, he said, cities are required to work with counties, which control resources for mental health and related drug and alcohol treatment services.
“If you’re trying to address the homelessness crisis and you know that mental health and addiction are elements of that crisis, it’s very difficult to do it without a strong partnership with the county,” he said. “So there are a lot of mayors who would love to be able to wave a magic wand and get everyone lined up. It’s not easy.”
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office told Fox News Digital that the emergency declaration will help house the homeless faster than before.
“The order immediately grants Mayor Bass the power to lift rules and regulations that delay or prevent the construction of permanent and temporary housing for the homeless; to expedite contracts that prioritize bringing homeless Angelenos indoors; and to allow the city to purchase housing, housing and land for Angelenos in need,” a spokesperson said.
“This is not rhetoric,” they added. “This is action.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
