LA County program targeting encampments moves nearly 60 homeless near LAX to housing

Nearly 60 people who were living in homeless encampments or RVs in the Lennox, Hawthorne and Inglewood areas were moved into temporary housing in the first operation organized under Los Angeles County's Pathway Home program.

Similar to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' Inside Safe program, the county's Pathway Home is an effort to target homeless encampments, including recreational vehicles, and move people into alternative housing.

According to the county, Pathway Home's first operation was conducted between Aug. 9-11 and targeted a cluster of encampments beside or under the San Diego (405) Freeway in the general area of Los Angeles International Airport. A total of 59 people were moved indoors -- 50 into a hotel operated by Pathway Home and nine others into interim housing.

It was not immediately clear how long those people would remain in the provided housing. County officials said the program provides "wraparound services" aimed at helping them "achieve stability and ultimately move into permanent housing."

Those services include physical and mental health care, substance-abuse disorder treatment, benefits enrollment and life skills development, according to the county. The program also offers "housing navigation" services to help people obtain leases, along with time-limited subsidies to help them pay rent.

In addition to moving the homeless into housing, Pathway Home workers found housing for 26 pets, while removing seven RVs that were being used for housing and removing tents and debris from the various encampments.