LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass continues to press forward with sheltering the homeless and part of the solution includes neighboring Inglewood.
Onlookers are impressed with how Bass has “hit the ground running” in moving people off the streets and into housing despite her being in office for less than a month. The last time Los Angeles declared a housing emergency was in 2015 under former Mayor Eric Garcetti who accessed $100 million to solve the problem.
Related: Los Angeles declares ‘state of emergency’ on homelessness
In addition to the one-time $100 million funding proposed by the council, Mayor Garcetti is calling for an annual $100 million to fund permanent housing for the homeless and to set up a foundation dedicated to the issue, his office said.
Outreach workers were spotted on Jan. 5 attempting to convince those living in tents along Los Angeles’ streets to accept housing if they abandon their tents and other items in exchange for a room.
They will be moved to local motels and/or hotels which includes rooms in Inglewood days before the City takes center stage for the 2023 College Football Championship game.
Bass and newly elected Councilwoman Traci Park were also seen in Venice on Jan. 5 cleaning out encampments.
Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts has not declared homelessness an emergency as Bass and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson have, but he may be forced to deal with it if the mandate is for LA to “lock arms” with electeds across Los Angeles County as the Board of Supervisors have already pledged.
The unhoused residents in Inglewood have taken to living in local parks and along the freeway with the hopes of finding shelter. Mayor Butts has referenced a winter shelter multiple times but no one knows where it is or how to access it.
As Inglewood continues to be awarded high-profile sporting events its imperative to get a handle on the homeless crisis sooner than later especially if other cities will be using Inglewood to solve it.
