L.A. County Supervisors Approve $7 Million To Help Homeless Get Off Streets

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles County supervisors approved $7 million in funding Tuesday to help get the homeless, particularly women and veterans, off the streets and into housing as fast as possible.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas recommended transferring $2 million to Housing for Health, a program he said has a proven track record of quickly sourcing supportive housing.

"It is urgent that we move homeless people, particularly women, off the streets and out of harm's way as El Nino approaches," Ridley-Thomas said, adding that women are particularly vulnerable to violence and sexual predators.

Ridley-Thomas said about 5,000 homeless women live in the 2nd District, which he represents.

In addition, Supervisors Don Knabe and Hilda Solis proposed launching the Home for Heroes program with $5 million.

The plan is to serve at least 1,000 homeless veterans over the next 18 months with strategies that include more shelter beds, landlord incentives for housing veterans and grants to cover move-in costs like security deposits.

"One of the challenges in housing our homeless vets has been identifying housing for them, even when they had a voucher in hand," Knabe said. "It was taking vets 90 days or longer to find an apartment."

The Homeless Initiative is expected to issue its recommendations Thursday.

"Our veterans, both men and women, have sacrificed so much for our country. They put their lives on the line to protect our country and our freedom that we all cherish so much," Solis said. "Now, it's our turn to help them by ensuring they receive the attention they deserve so that they do not end up homeless and forgotten."