LA Launches New Programs To Help The Homeless

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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Mayor Eric Garcetti announced new efforts Thursday to help the homeless in Los Angeles.

Garcetti emphasized the importance of attacking the homeless crisis from multiple fronts in order to make a lasting difference.

"We're housing about 133 people a day in LA, 150 – this is from year-old statistics – are becoming homeless each day," he said. "There's a gap of about 17. If we can house 17 more people each day or prevent them from becoming homeless, we can actually see those numbers begin to turn."

Even with 26 more homeless shelters opening by July, Garcetti said prevention is crucial to ending homelessness.

One of the new programs is called Solid Ground, which will help people access the city's Family Resource Centers for help with rent, bills, food and other necessities to help reduce their costs. The program would provide people with up to three months of support.

Another new program Garcetti announced is LA: EnterPRISE, an effort to provide job training and assistance in finding a career path for people living on the street. About 200 people will be entered into the program.

Five shelters through the A Bridge Home program are slated to open throughout the city in the next two months, Garcetti said, and 50 permanent supportive housing facilities will be open by the end of the year through multiple funding sources, including the $1.2 billion Proposition HHH. About 13,000 units will be ready within the next few years, he said.

Los Angeles