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Los Angeles Times
17-07-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. homeless population drops again. And yes, there's reason for hope
For nearly two decades, an official count confirmed what all of us could see: more and more people living on sidewalks, streets and other marginal spaces all over Los Angeles County. So it felt like only good news this week when the county's homeless agency announced a 4% decline in the homeless population and a 10% decline in those living in the street. To go a bit deeper than the numbers, I got hold of my colleague, Doug Smith. A deep thinker who's covered every big story in L.A., Doug has become The Times' foremost expert on homelessness. Here's what the essential Doug Smith had to say: What did you make of the latest figures? I expected it. I drive around a lot, as does [City Hall reporter] Dave Zahniser. We both have seen the difference made by [the city's] Inside Safe and [the county's] Pathway Home programs. Many of the largest encampments have been eliminated. Should we be hopeful that L.A. is finally tackling this problem? The [city and county] programs are very expensive and are barely two years old. The big question is how much more they will be able to expand, or even maintain the number of hotel and motel beds they now have. Does Mayor Karen Bass, or any other individual or group, deserve credit for this decline? She does, but she's not the only one. One of the most important initiatives is Housing for Health, a program created by L.A. County Department of Health Services when Mitch Katz was running it. It targets frequent users of the public health system. Judge Carter has forced the county to create 3,000 new mental health beds (still in the works). [California Community Foundation Chief Executive] Miguel Santana is now on the newly-created housing board that will be Proposition HHH on steroids. Janey Rountree at the California Policy Lab at UCLA has done more than anyone else to make usable information out of the oozing mash of data coming out of homeless services agencies and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. What are a few things that will be needed to keep moving people off the street? We are finally, mercifully, moving beyond the ideology of 'Housing First' as the one and only solution. The system has improved, but is still stuck in the binary thinking of interim vs. permanent housing. When you visit encampments, you quickly identify people for whom neither of those is the right first step. Some need detox and drug treatment, some long-term mental health treatment and some jail. The first two are woefully scarce, so they tend to all end up in jail. There are several valiant private enterprises out there trying to figure out a conventional financing model to build affordable housing. I hope they figure it out. Is there anything the average Angeleno can do? They can pat themselves on the back already for doubling the sales tax. Even if the recent trend continues, it's going to be a long way to 'Problem solved!' Try to be equally empathetic with the people living on the street and the people whose houses and businesses they live in front of. Finally, don't be too harsh in judging those in positions of responsibility who have made only incremental progress. Yes, they're imperfect. But all they have is local levers to budge a problem that has macro social and economic causes. The 2025 Emmy nominations have been announced. The best comedy category is stacked, with fan favorites including 'Abbott Elementary' and 'The Bear.' Who should win? Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. On July 17, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew continued their historic journey to the moon, which launched from NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. the day before. On July 20, two of its astronauts became the first people to step on the surface of the moon. For the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, The Times measured the mission by heartbeat. Jim Rainey, staff writerDiamy Wang, homepage internIzzy Nunes, audience internKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The number of people living on the streets dropped nearly 10% countywide this year
The number of homeless people across L.A. County declined 4% in 2025, marking the second consecutive drop after years of steady increases, with a 10% decrease of people living in the streets, according to the annual count released Monday. The decline, based on a snapshot taken in February, follows billions in taxpayer funds spent to solve homelessness in the county, and comes with increasing scrutiny of how the money is being spent. Officials with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which conducts the count, said the declines show the investment is working, particularly in reducing the population of unsheltered homeless individuals — that is people living on the streets rather than in temporary housing. In the past two years, the city and county have increasingly focused on clearing encampments and providing an offer of a shelter bed or a room in a hotel or motel. "Reducing homelessness is now a trend in LA City and county," said Paul Rubenstein, LAHSA's deputy chief external relations officer. "Our leaders came together to bring people inside and their efforts are paying off." The 2025 numbers represent the first time, since its inception in 2005, that the point in time homelessness count has shown declines in overall homelessness two years in a row, Mayor Karen Bass said. "Homelessness has gone down two years in a row because we chose to act with urgency and reject the broken status quo of leaving people on the street until housing was built," she said. "These aren't just data points — they represent thousands of human beings who are now inside, and neighborhoods that are beginning to heal." How strong a trend depends on how you look at it. Last year, overall homelessness declined slightly in both the city and county, but the drops were too small to be statistically significant. Unsheltered homeless, however, did meaningfully decline in 2024. This year, the drops in both categories were outside the margin of error. Read more: The real story of how L.A. became the epicenter of America's homeless crisis In all, there were an estimated 72,308 people living in shelters or on the streets in the county in February, a 4% reduction from the 2024 count. In the city of L.A., homelessness fell 3.4% to 43,699. The unsheltered population saw larger declines. In February, there were an estimated 47,413 people living on the streets in the county and 26,972 in the city, annual declines of 9.5% and 7.9%, respectfully. Over the last two years, the unsheltered population in the county has dropped 14%, and 17.5% in the city. Rubenstein said those numbers have fallen in large part because of encampment resolution efforts. Those include Mayor Bass' Inside Safe initiative and the county's Pathway Home, both which focus on quickly moving people off the streets and into interim — and sometimes permanent — housing. Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who chairs the housing and homelessness committee, said she was "proud" to see the significant decrease in unsheltered homelessness in the city. '[When you're unsheltered], you're the victim of assault, crime, sexual assault. Women are extraordinarily unsafe,' she said. "Unsheltered homelessness is what housed people see. That's what feels challenging for the city." As more people move into shelter beds, hotels and motels on what's supposed to be a temporary basis, the number of people who are sheltered, but without a permanent home grew. In 2025, the sheltered homeless population was up 8.5% in the county and 4.7% in the city, according to the count. Historically, about 25% of the homeless population is sheltered, but that number rose to about 38% in the city and 34% in the county in February. LAHSA, which overseas the region's homeless service system, said it is making progress on getting people into permanent housing. Last year, agency data showed 11,146 people moved from interim housing into a permanent home, 23.5% more than in 2023. The annual homeless count was conducted from February 18 to Feb. 20. Volunteers spread out across the county and counted the number of people they see sleeping out in the open. They also tallied the number of tents, makeshift shelters and vehicles where people are likely living. Researchers at USC then use a separate demographic survey to estimate how many people, on average, are living in each of those dwellings. The numbers released Monday aren't the only evidence homelessness has declined, at least in some places. Earlier this month, researchers at RAND released findings of a more intensive survey that found unsheltered homelessness declined in Hollywood and Venice last year, while rising in Skid Row, contributing to a 15% drop when the three neighborhoods were combined. The two reports come at a critical time for Los Angeles' homeless service delivery system, which for decades has been overseen by LAHSA. In the last year, two audits found LAHSA lacked sufficient oversight of its contracts and programs, leaving them vulnerable to waste and fraud. Following those reports, the County Board of Supervisors voted in April to move hundreds of millions of county dollars out of LAHSA and put it into a new agency that will launch next year. L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the decrease in overall homelessness in the county is "progress," but that the decline is not fast enough. "That's why Los Angeles County is launching a new, dedicated department — one that is coordinated, accountable, and designed to meet the urgency of this moment," she said. "It will streamline services, break through bureaucracy, and deliver results across all 88 cities and unincorporated communities." In a presentation to reporters last week, LAHSA said it has worked to improve efficiency in the last two years, as well as increase coordination with local officials, which it said helped contribute to lower levels of homelessness. Los Angeles City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, however, said he takes "any data LAHSA makes public with a grain of salt" and said given budget problems across all levels of government "we need to keep exploring creative ideas and build different types of housing because the ratio of funds spent to progress is not sustainable." Indeed, moving people off the streets could soon get tougher. The Trump Administration wants to cut funding for the federal rental subsidy known as Section 8. While the state and county have already cut some funding for homeless services amid budget constraints, including some funds LAHSA has used to move people out of shelters and into apartments. Rubenstein said that reduction in particular means it will be hard to "maintain this pace" of moving people into permanent housing and why its so important to "commit to the creation of new permanent housing" locally through entities like the new L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency. Times reporter Doug Smith contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
14-07-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
The number of people living on the streets dropped nearly 10% countywide this year
The number of homeless people across L.A. County declined 4% in 2025, marking the second consecutive drop after years of steady increases, with a 10% decrease of people living in the streets, according to the annual count released Monday. The decline, based on a snapshot taken in February, follows billions in taxpayer funds spent to solve homelessness in the county, and comes with increasing scrutiny of how the money is being spent. Officials with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which conducts the count, said the declines show the investment is working, particularly in reducing the population of unsheltered homeless individuals — that is people living on the streets rather than in temporary housing. In the past two years, the city and county have increasingly focused on clearing encampments and providing an offer of a shelter bed or a room in a hotel or motel. 'Reducing homelessness is now a trend in LA City and county,' said Paul Rubenstein, LAHSA's deputy chief external relations officer. 'Our leaders came together to bring people inside and their efforts are paying off.' The 2025 numbers represent the first time, since its inception in 2005, that the point in time homelessness count has shown declines in overall homelessness two years in a row, Mayor Karen Bass said. 'Homelessness has gone down two years in a row because we chose to act with urgency and reject the broken status quo of leaving people on the street until housing was built,' she said. 'These aren't just data points — they represent thousands of human beings who are now inside, and neighborhoods that are beginning to heal.' How strong a trend depends on how you look at it. Last year, overall homelessness declined slightly in both the city and county, but the drops were too small to be statistically significant. Unsheltered homeless, however, did meaningfully decline in 2024. This year, the drops in both categories were outside the margin of error. In all, there were an estimated 72,308 people living in shelters or on the streets in the county in February, a 4% reduction from the 2024 count. In the city of L.A., homelessness fell 3.4% to 43,699. The unsheltered population saw larger declines. In February, there were an estimated 47,413 people living on the streets in the county and 26,972 in the city, annual declines of 9.5% and 7.9%, respectfully. Over the last two years, the unsheltered population in the county has dropped 14%, and 17.5% in the city. Rubenstein said those numbers have fallen in large part because of encampment resolution efforts. Those include Mayor Bass' Inside Safe initiative and the county's Pathway Home, both which focus on quickly moving people off the streets and into interim — and sometimes permanent — housing. Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who chairs the housing and homelessness committee, said she was 'proud' to see the significant decrease in unsheltered homelessness in the city. '[When you're unsheltered], you're the victim of assault, crime, sexual assault. Women are extraordinarily unsafe,' she said. 'Unsheltered homelessness is what housed people see. That's what feels challenging for the city.' As more people move into shelter beds, hotels and motels on what's supposed to be a temporary basis, the number of people who are sheltered, but without a permanent home grew. In 2025, the sheltered homeless population was up 8.5% in the county and 4.7% in the city, according to the count. Historically, about 25% of the homeless population is sheltered, but that number rose to about 38% in the city and 34% in the county in February. LAHSA, which overseas the region's homeless service system, said it is making progress on getting people into permanent housing. Last year, agency data showed 11,146 people moved from interim housing into a permanent home, 23.5% more than in 2023. The annual homeless count was conducted from February 18 to Feb. 20. Volunteers spread out across the county and counted the number of people they see sleeping out in the open. They also tallied the number of tents, makeshift shelters and vehicles where people are likely living. Researchers at USC then use a separate demographic survey to estimate how many people, on average, are living in each of those dwellings. The numbers released Monday aren't the only evidence homelessness has declined, at least in some places. Earlier this month, researchers at RAND released findings of a more intensive survey that found unsheltered homelessness declined in Hollywood and Venice last year, while rising in Skid Row, contributing to a 15% drop when the three neighborhoods were combined. The two reports come at a critical time for Los Angeles' homeless service delivery system, which for decades has been overseen by LAHSA. In the last year, two audits found LAHSA lacked sufficient oversight of its contracts and programs, leaving them vulnerable to waste and fraud. Following those reports, the County Board of Supervisors voted in April to move hundreds of millions of county dollars out of LAHSA and put it into a new agency that will launch next year. L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the decrease in overall homelessness in the county is 'progress,' but that the decline is not fast enough. 'That's why Los Angeles County is launching a new, dedicated department — one that is coordinated, accountable, and designed to meet the urgency of this moment,' she said. 'It will streamline services, break through bureaucracy, and deliver results across all 88 cities and unincorporated communities.' In a presentation to reporters last week, LAHSA said it has worked to improve efficiency in the last two years, as well as increase coordination with local officials, which it said helped contribute to lower levels of homelessness. Los Angeles City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, however, said he takes 'any data LAHSA makes public with a grain of salt' and said given budget problems across all levels of government 'we need to keep exploring creative ideas and build different types of housing because the ratio of funds spent to progress is not sustainable.' Indeed, moving people off the streets could soon get tougher. The Trump Administration wants to cut funding for the federal rental subsidy known as Section 8. While the state and county have already cut some funding for homeless services amid budget constraints, including some funds LAHSA has used to move people out of shelters and into apartments. Rubenstein said that reduction in particular means it will be hard to 'maintain this pace' of moving people into permanent housing and why its so important to 'commit to the creation of new permanent housing' locally through entities like the new L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency. Times reporter Doug Smith contributed to this report.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Cleanup operation underway to remove RV encampment in Gardena
The Brief Dozens of RVs are located along the Gardena-West Rancho Dominguez border. For years, residents complained that the influx of trailers led to overcrowding. Cleanup efforts began Wednesday, April 30th. LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials are taking action against a homeless encampment that has been growing in the area for years. The backstory Dozens of RVs are located in the East Gardena-West Rancho Dominguez area in unincorporated LA County with the heaviest concentration along Compton Boulevard between Main Street and South Avalon Boulevard. For years, residents have complained about the influx of trailers leading to overcrowding, and say the surge in the population has increased crimes such as prostitution, drug dealing and burglaries. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST), in coordination with several county agencies, is leading a cleanup and outreach operation in the area. The effort will involve removing trash, debris, and RVs that some unhoused Angelenos have been calling home for years. Dig deeper The operation is part of the Pathway Home Program, an LA County Homeless Initiative-led encampment resolution program adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2023. Since the inception of the Pathway Home program, the Sheriff's Department Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST) has placed 1,300 individuals into interim housing and off the streets. The program has helped remove 775 dilapidated RVs from the streets of unincorporated Los Angeles and Contract Cities. "It's an amazing feeling. It's very rare we get to see an immediate impact on people's lives, but it takes a lot of coordination and work.," said Pathway home director Kimberly Barnette. Seventy to eighty people are expected to be brought indoors from the RV encampment Wednesday alone, according to Pathway Home spokesperson Denis Wolcott. The goal of the operation is to transition individuals from homelessness into safe, permanent housing in order to enhance public safety and improve the quality of life for both unhoused people and the surrounding communities. LASD Lt. George Suarez has been on the frontlines of homeless outreach for years. "Services in a unique style. Everything is brought all at once. The housing resources are guaranteed and we've done outreach and know every single person in the encampment, so they're on a list and we know who tries to sneak in," he said. "It is clearly a humanitarian crisis. We're seeing the positive momentum we're seeing the true work now happening," he added. County officials said the individuals experiencing homelessness will be offered housing and support services, with transportation provided by social workers on site. The RVs will be towed to a recycling center and dismantled, according to sheriff's officials. The operation is expected to take approximately three days. Keys To Success One of the keys is leveraging outreach service volunteers the homeless trust, like community advocate Dave Matthews and Rigo Alejo who turned his life around after nearly a decade living here in an RV. "I am an example to all these people around who I used to hang out with if I can do it anyone can do it," said Alejo. Other success stories include Erin Echavarria who, with a little guidance, got herself an apartment and job. And 65-year-old David Peters, who just exchanged his RV for housing after someone ran over his dog here. Cleaning up the whole county is a slow process, but Pathway Home has sure made a dent…and already come full-circle. "they listen and ask me if they can help and clean-up," said Alejo. The Source Information from Los Angeles County officials.
CBS News
30-04-2025
- CBS News
RVs getting cleared from large-scale homeless encampment near Gardena
A large-scale homeless encampment cleanup is underway Wednesday as roughly 60 RVs are getting removed from Redondo Beach and Compton boulevards, east of Gardena. The area has been targeted by outreach workers for over a year, offering those living along the roadway alternative choices for housing and services. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna called the site a health hazard, with people living in life-threatening conditions. "As you're going along this street, there is not running water, there's no running toilets and people need to use the restroom, so where is all that human waste going?" "Not to mention whether it's drug paraphernalia that we find out here – this is not where you want people walking around. It's not a healthy environment," Luna said. The cleanup is spearheaded by the county's Pathway Home initiative which launched in 2023 and is funded through voter-approved Measure A, the half-cent countywide sales tax earmarked for homeless services. To date, Pathway Home has taken down 44 encampments, removed 775 RVs, permanently housed 265 people, and moved 1,319 people into interim housing, according to its website. Officials said those who do not choose to participate in the offerings over the next couple of days will still be forced to leave, the RVs will still be towed away, and the streets and sidewalks will be cleared. It's an effort to return these streets and sidewalks back to the neighborhoods, they say. "The goal of these Pathway Home encampment removals is to help transition people all at once, all at the same time, either into a motel or if we've done a master lease in an apartment building, to transition them as a community, given the fact that they have been living in a community," Supervisor Holly Mitchell said.
