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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass invited press to a special housing and homelessness briefing to do a deep dive on progress made from her Inside Safe initiative, Los Angeles’ first citywide proactive housing-led strategy to bring people inside from tents and encampments for good, and to prevent encampments from returning. Inside Safe was launched simultaneously as she set the city into a State of Emergency with the activation of the Emergency Operations Center in her first act as mayor.
She immediately hit the ground running by taking the necessary measures to make monumental moves towards a more compassionate approach to curing homelessness. As signification changes are underway and key appointments are still being made it is important to note the key details of what makes her executive directives so unique while remaining mindful to the mission’s most important factor which is the lives that are being saved as her team provides wraparound care for the unhoused.
In the days following her historic inauguration (which caused for much celebration with the Oath-of-Office being administered by Madam Vice President, Kamala Harris), Executive Directive 1 expedited permits and clearances for temporary shelters and affordable housing to provide swift aid in sheltering while Executive Directive 3 order the city’s asset management services to urgently make use of viable city-owned property.
The mayor was joined by members of her team which include Mercedes Márquez, Chief of Housing and Homelessness Solutions along with Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum, CEO of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). Her administration is projecting 4, 000 Angeleneos will be housed during her first 100 days.
Inside Safe is being recognized as much more than just another government program, but the mayor is also careful not to take credit for work done prior to her installment. Many experts and service providers have worked diligently for years to make this transition more effective, but it is her commitment to what she describes as a “humanitarian crisis” to ensure their efforts were not in vain. Many of the numbers projected are simply a continuation of a supportive housing pipeline that has now provided 1,336 individuals with interim housing-36 of which can be credited to Mayor Bass. More than 500 emergency vouchers were issued which helped house 775 people; 143 of which were directed from this mayor but she can also take responsibility for 150 of 235 master leases after a renewal to keep the LA Grand Hotel opened. The hotel was set to cease operations in February after Project Room Key used the facility as temporary housing relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. 614 people have received permanent housing units from HHH and 94 VASH vouchers have been provided to support homeless veterans with housing. Inside Safe will have housed more than 1,000 people by the mayor’s 100th day in office. Inside Safe has guided 13 operations which has led to 62 people being placed into permanent housing. The lofty goal of bringing 1,000 people inside is only half way there with 516 people being brought inside so far. Shockingly, there have been zero arrests which is in stark contrast to most major cities and states that have criminalized homelessness. Former tent encampments sites are noticeably cleaner by the residents of local neighborhoods as the transitions have been peaceably arranged with urgency yet gentle care.
Overall, the mayor is making great use of her authority by cutting through specific areas of red tape which she has also described as self-inflicted damage the city has restricted onto itself. Chief Real Estate Officer at LA Family Housing, Elda Mendez-Lemus attributes Executive Directive 1 to shortening the entitlement process by five months. By directing city departments to process clearances related to building permit applications within five business days for 100 percent affordable housing projects and within two business days for shelters, the mayor also directs all reviews and inspections require for 100 percent affordable housing projects or shelters to be approved within 60 days following the submission of the completed application. City departments are ordered to expedite supportive housing development timelines which will speed along the process for projects such as a 91-unit permanent supportive housing development for individuals experiencing homelessness known as The Pano led by LA Family Housing. Construction for more affordable and permanent housing is the source that will streamline an effective model for the path forward from outreach that dispels the myth that unhoused people don’t want assistance to wraparound services as families are connected to more permanent housing solutions.
By next week, Inside Safe — our new, citywide strategy to confront homelessness in LA — will have brought more than 1,000 Angelenos off the streets and into housing.
“They got us off the streets… That was life-changing.” pic.twitter.com/WoJIVXcgki
— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) March 16, 2023
[…] Ella Bee Media Group shares a recap along with snapshot of the work done by Mayor Karen Bass in which she describes as her first 100 days of action: […]