Mayor Eric Garcetti Pledges More Outreach, Resources Amid LA Homeless Crisis
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — There are 36,000 people living in Los Angeles without a home.
Mayor Eric Garcetti was inside the city's Emergency Operations Center Monday discussing the growing homeless crisis in L.A.
When the center is not being used during devastating earthquakes, floods, or fires, a permanent sign in big letters faces the room calling it the Unified Homelessness Response Center.
The mayor offered an accounting Monday of all of the areas his administration is involved in to try and turn the tide of the homeless crisis.
He first mentioned the streets, stating that "clean teams" are fanning out throughout the city, cleaning up garbage and hazardous waste.
In many cases, they've identified businesses as the source of the trash.
City Fire is using fast response units that carry paramedics to the homeless to deal with emergency medical issues.
More beds are being added to provide temporary housing in the Bridge to Home program.
More than 20 new homeless shelters are under construction along with 10,000 new permanent housing units.
Mayor Garcetti is calling on state legislators to pass a bill that would put a cap on rent hikes and provide eviction protection.
He is also calling on the federal government to live up to its obligation to provide rental assistance through the Section 8 housing program.
This all comes after the latest homeless count estimates 17 more people fall into homelessness every day in Los Angeles County -- That's more than 6,000 before the end of the year.
"To stop the supply we're going to need to have renter protections so people don't get evicted and we don't see rent gouging, and we're going to need to build more housing units -- keep this pace, but all cities have to join us too," said Garcetti.
While fingers of blame may be pointing in many different directions, there is a consensus that it will take everyone involved; state, federal, local, as well as businesses and the people that live here.
