A new report unveiled at the Los Angeles City Council meeting earlier this week found that the city impounded 555 vehicles in which homeless people lived in while only offering shelter to 186 in the pat two years, going directly against recent comments Mayor Karen Bass made about the recent Grants Pass case and wanting to house homeless in the city.
For years, the city of Los Angeles has struggled with homelessness. Until recently, the number of homeless people in the city has skyrocketed, with the 2023 homeless count finding 46,260 homeless people in the city. This number has been compounded by Mayor Bass’ policies. While she did declare a state of emergency in the city over homelessness and push more funding into homelessness endeavors, a majority of homeless experts have said that she tried to reduce homelessness in all the wrong ways. Her Inside Safe initiative, her signature homeless initiative, has largely been seen as a total failure.
However, in recent weeks, Los Angeles has had some cautiously good news about homeless levels in the city. The 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count specifically found that there were an estimated 75,312 homeless people in Los Angeles County, down from 75,518 last year, with a total of 45,252 homeless people in the city of L.A., down from 46,260 in 2023. However, compared to 2022 numbers, the number of homeless in the county and city are still way up, with 69,144 being counted in L.A. County that year, with 42,000 in the city. Overall the count is 2.2% lower than last year in the city, although homeless experts have said that independent and local homeless shelters and relief services are largely responsible for the change, and not Mayor Bass’ programs.
Despite the situation in L.A. stabilizing, the recent City of Grants Pass v. Johnson Supreme Court ruling is expected to upend things again, with Los Angeles now having more power to remove homeless encampments from city property. While many lawmakers praised the ruling, with Republicans and even Democrats like Governor Gavin Newsom being on board with the decision, Mayor Bass rallied against it.
LA Homeless
“If it’s OK for other cities to ticket and shoo people away, I will be very concerned that the number of people moving into L.A. from other cities will increase,” said Bass last Friday during a press conference. “I also do not believe that it is ultimately a solution to homelessness. How are they supposed to pay for their ticket, and what happens when they don’t pay? Does it go into a warrant and give us an excuse to incarcerate somebody?”
Later she added that “The only way to address this crisis is to bring people indoors with housing and supportive services. In the City of Los Angeles, we will continue leading with this approach, which helped move thousands more Angelenos inside last year than the year before. We cannot go backwards – we must continue innovating and moving with intention and urgency until every person experiencing homelessness is able to access housing, services and support.”
However, the new report brought to the City Council this week made those statements hypocritical.
“Here she is rallying against the court case which will ‘punish people’ by arresting or kicking them out of shelter, when this policy was doing that the entire time. Hundreds by the looks of it,” said Mark Wagner, a Philadelphia-based researcher on homelessness, to the Globe on Friday. “And if it isn’t the L.A. Mayor, then it is the L.A. homeless system. Look, people living out of their cars, that’s a last resort. And the decent thing to do is to make sure they get shelter space or have a place to go to. But apparently that only happens every so often there.”
“Look, L.A. is really trying to solve this. But they need new methods that work. Or else you end up with a system where they say that everyone needs shelter space, then take away people’s cars and send them to the street.”
View Comments (65)
The LA mayor is unbelievably bad. Isn’t she forgetting the actual tax paying citizens who deal with the squalor, crime, drugs and degeneracy from the homeless every day?
Why enforce any laws? Fines, warrants and incarcerations is how we change behavior and clean up neighborhoods.
what about the families and the kids that have to live out on the street people always seem to think about the negative not the families that homeless. there's only 10% of the people that's come in crimes what about the other 90% of people that lost their jobs or have medical issues have some compassionate.
Darren - The numbers are actually the opposite of what you said. Approx 10% + are those who lost jobs or housing; women and families are a small percentage, too, and the people who make up that percentage are highly motivated to get back on their feet. They do so rather quickly --- within months --- by seeking the help of faith-based missions and "tough love" organizations such as L.A. Union Rescue Mission (URM.org) or Sacramento's Union Gospel Mission. Treatment is offered, clean and sober shelter provided when they seek help. In these facilities they are sheltered, fed, given help such as rehabilitation from addiction if needed, taught life skills, given job training and opportunities to help them climb out of what was likely an unfortunate life situation that eventually spiraled out of control.
It's the approx 90% on the street who resist and refuse housing, sobriety, rehabilitation, and who can't seem to get out of their own way and who eventually, by becoming worse and worse, no longer know HOW to get out of their own way. Enabling such resistance helps NO ONE, most especially those living in their filth and fever dreams on the streets. If we, as earnest and truly helping members of our society, were to force the issue and start taking action to clean up the streets, offering a choice of rehab or jail as we used to do not that long ago, many many many more people in that group would be saved from indignity, overdose, disease, and death and the continuation of a tortured dead-end existence. There are many many many who have and continue to testify to having their lives cleaned up and saved by such "tough love" intervention, but you will probably never hear about those success stories because the $$Homeless Industrial Complex$$ would like you to remain in the dark about what is possible when everything seems so hopeless.
the only to fix homelessness is to build more homes for the homeless...it's actually quite simple......it's the price of homes and rent as a whole is what makes people homeless..... people just flat out can't afford it..... building more homes brings down the scarcity thus bringing down the price of home ownership and renting as well
Not true. See my post above yours. The so-called "Housing First" model heralded by phony, money-grubbing politicians and their cronies is not the answer and only makes problems of untreated addiction and etc. worse and likely fatal, by putting such people "out of sight and out of mind." Some of the very expensive housing --- up to $800K in many instances --- is in buildings that have been taken over by drug cartels and the homeless are kicked out to the street anyway. This so-called solution is touted by politicians and their friends because it insures a continuation and worsening of the homeless problem and guarantees that the funding and political contributions will never end.
Most tough individual cases on the street refuse shelters and housing anyway. They prefer life on the street because the street is actually usually safer than what govt and most of their sub-contracted non-profits offer. Govt-run "wet" shelters allow vicious dogs and don't screen for weapons and thus are downright dangerous
that's too much like common sense bruh.. obviously..law makers and realtors aren't interested in any form of compassion..only money ..money they know the homeless don't have ..so it's easier for them to leave the homeless at the mercy of the violence of the streets of LA.. and I'll bet they're hoping most of them be dead before the next fiscal year count .
We are sitting on a ton of empty housing built, purchased, remodeled and repaired for homeless. What's happening with
those? either the homeless don't want to live inside or our government is badly failing.
So you do realize that you're going to paying for their incarceration, as a "tax paying citizen"? Look up the UBI programs they've tried and how successful and cheap they were. Look up the Denver experiment. There's never going to be a perfect solution for homelessness but incarceration screws them over for any future they may have otherwise had--should they have been given the opportunity. I think we should be forcing citizens into drug rehabilitation, the ones who are mentally ill especially. Then connect them with a social worker to help them reconnect to society. UBI still costs less, though.
Excuse me, but not all homeless people are there because of drugs and crime. There are people that live in houses that do the same things that you’re talking about. I’m sorry but your stereotyping all homeless people as bad. The truth is there aren’t all bad. I am one of those homeless people that ended up homeless cause I ran away from an abusive relationship and had no one to help me. I had no choice but take myself and my two kids to live on the street. I was out there for ten years. I never committed crimes or did those things you are saying. Jesus was a homeless person and until you personally live on the streets and see what they have to go thru for even just to drink of water.!I’m sorry but you don’t know how lucky you are to be able to use a toilet or even a shower. I’m not gonna listen to someone that hasn’t actually Lavern in my shoes to tell me how I am.
The political future of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass depends upon her putting her shoulder to the wheel to EXPAND homelessness in L.A. The Globe and likely everyone reading it had the whole thing figured out five years ago, thanks to Edward Ring, Katy Grimes and a number of other fine contributors who knew that the failure to fix homelessness was purposeful and explained why.
After five years of extensive publicity about the real story I think you would now be hard pressed to find a reasonably informed person who DOESN'T know what must be done to address homelessness effectively. Are Karen Bass and her cronies the only ones who DON'T know what must be done? No, they know, but "Housing First," "Project Roomkey," wet shelters, handing out meth pipes to addicts on the streets, and so many many many other such insane and obviously wrong "fixes" and failures keep the Homeless Industrial Complex cash faucet gushing full blast to prop up Bass & Co.'s ridiculous political career. In addition to propping up Bass let's not forget Gov Gavin Newsom, Sac Mayor Darell Steinberg, and actually a cast of thousands, too many to mention:
"The Homeless Industrial Complex"
https://californiaglobe.com/fr/the-homeless-industrial-complex/
can someone please explain to me where the money is going? if the answers or in the pockets of you know who! but now you want to make homeless a problem what happened to the mental hospitals in the 1980s? so now we're in 2024 that everyday people that works is being affected by shady politicians bottom line
I totally agree the money that is supposed to be spent on homeless issues is going straight into politicians pockets.
I totally agree the money that is supposed to be spent on homeless issues is going straight into politicians pockets. follow the money! politicians, builders,organizers have all benefitted from homeless money. everyone except the homeless people. that's a fact!!!
you are a fucking idiot
That's uncalled for! 🚫🙅♀️ #Respect #KindnessMatters
Would you mind very much telling us what is your stake in the continuation of the unholy mess on the streets that has not been effectively addressed by govt and most non-profits but only expanded? Are you one of the so-called "homeless advocates" whose very $$rewarding$$ livelihood depends upon the homeless/vagrant situation only getting worse and worse and worse and worse?
the only to fix homelessness is to build more homes for the homeless...it's actually quite simple......it's the price of homes and rent as a whole is what makes people homeless..... people just flat out can't afford it..... building more homes brings down the scarcity thus bringing down the price of home ownership and renting as well
Ruben Morales - Not true. Please see my posts above.
"L.A. Crack House? Homeless Walking Out of Taxpayer-Funded Building with Crack Pipes"
https://www.foxla.com/news/la-crack-house-homeless-walking-out-taxpayer-funded-building-crack-pipes
The homeless crisis could be solved overnight, by putting people in jail for drug possession. They get a cot, three meals a day, and a place to get sober. We used to do this, and, surprise, no homeless. The Democrats have turned California into a Third World state.
jails are already full, should they release real criminals to make room for petty drug users? There's also drugs in jail, so if that's you're plan to get them sober it's not gonna work. CA has always been #1 in homeless population. Always. And the population grew substantially under Ronald Reagan. All the services that prevented homelessness were cut in order to save rich people some money. Liberals love exploiting the problem but Republicans have never, ever offered a different solution. They only complain.
you are racist coward republican POS fagout
At least learn to spell, Mama... you look like an uneducated, unhinged idiot with your postings on this thread...
CD9 - Looks like with the recent Supreme Court decision all of the govt "housing authority" departments and the gov-connected "homeless non-profits" and "homeless advocates" are freaking out. Also looks like emails were sent out from "management" telling the above-mentioned people to negatively comment, and pretend you are homeless, on the article at the California Globe. Of course we can see there are some honest comments sprinkled in. Others, of course, have no discipline or smarts whatsoever and just call nonsensical names and make pointless "arguments."
Kind of interesting though to see so many people suddenly come out and leave ridiculous comments ---- of course it's possible it could all be the work of just ONE person using different "names" ---- because their homeless-grinder gravy train is likely threatened.
Showandtell, CriticalDfence9, I have read through the over 50 comments on this thread. There are only a couple of comments that I would classify as "unhinged" - one on each side. The rest seem to be honest opinions about the homeless issue, whether one agrees with them or not. Overall, good discussion and enlightening, imo, for those of us who are not tuned into the situation and are watching from an emotional, psychological and physical distance. I worked in the area near LA's skid row many years ago. Ten years later I drove through the same area and it seemed worse to me.
what about the people does not do drugs or alcohol or any addictions see me and my wife was homeless going to fix the income you know the rest blah blah blah blah but we're in our own place now it wasn't for agency came on a bike path and helped us out we would still be homeless but I do agree with you a lot of people out there wants to do drugs alcohol breaking cars steal from people and communities where they live at then the people of the cops should come down on but unfortunately the cops come down on one they got come down on all you have seniors and people with disabilities and mental problems that do need to help but you're not going to help out somebody's on addiction you got a bad drug habit it's going to be a saint repeat over and over again this I do know me and my wife are seniors we see this stuff every day if you understand how people act and don't care no more and gave up that's because all the people turn against them like they're trash and nobody but once in awhile you stick your hand out there and find out the person's problem and work through it it makes a big deal and their behalf and yours as a community you got to remember once stay with your neighbors or a family member or some stranger they just gave up of other reasons but then you got taken accounted for our country helps people from other countries but not their own people they got the money to do that when they get the money to help their own people so Karen Beth at least she's taking some people off the streets that wants to come off other ones you just can't help this is from Dan and Qualls
for what this worth, every year alcohol kills more people than all drugs combined and every year cigarettes kills more people than all drugs combined and technically alcohol and cigarettes are drugs. what is your response to that?
what about the ones who pocket alot of the money for the homeless problem.
thousands of dollars. They talk about millions and millions of dollars , but the problem is only worse . Then you want to blame the drugs , it's not the drugs it's people in charge who don't know what they are doing.
Good point.
Right u are
💯💯💯
All purposeful.
Keep feeding the Homeless Industrial Complex all the while ruining this state and the people who live in it and pay taxes!
If they wanted to truly fix it, it would be fixed!
Where are the audits?
It's going to take us ALL as a human existence to come to terms with this homeless issue that has been around not only in California but throughout the nation & world. instead of pointing the finger..this is not a 1" man problem or any 1" elected officials issue to try to clean up & make better with time. Homelessness is just like anything else..we as a people need to eat, have proper medical, support, guidance & continual imput with this problem. Any problem will continue to be over looked because we live in a time of Me" me..I"i & if an individual isn't in the same position as a homeless person lining day to day on the streets, weather a car, tent, cardboard box any place that provides shelter to those that are homeless..those talking & those that are in a position to do a little something haven't stepped into their shoes so at the end of the the day " talking & debating & all these options are not helping...doesn't anyone want to continually roll up their sleeves & fight..because they say tomorrow ain't promised. we don't know we're our circumstances will lead us maybe in the same situation as the growing homeless problem..can't afford to say it's not me why should I care..because it could very well be YOU! you never know know what's coming.....
BILLIONS of tax dollars at the state and local level have been poured into govt homeless programs over the years by taxpayers who want something done about this and who want to help. Many are apparently unaware of the Homeless Industrial Complex where politicians, govt, and their selected often-completely-ineffective non-profits are part of a money-making industry that depends upon these dollars and thus they don't want homelessness to be fixed. Govt and govt-connected non-profits are mostly USELESS and the people incompetent ---- they just want their paycheck ---- and those on the street understandably become frustrated and are ultimately not helped if they seek it.
Over my adult life I have often thought about being homeless and what would I do? If I found myself on the street or living in my car with nothing but problems I would head straight to the L.A. Union Rescue Mission. They would help me I know. URM.org
Govt agencies and politicians would be smart to follow their model ---- which has been offered many many times, and it can be done in a secular way if that is actually the problem, which it isn't ---- but they refuse. To me this is proof they don't want to fix the problem. They are allergic to common-sense solutions and compelled to apply exactly the WRONG ones.
I did my own audit based on what the city spends per unit to house the perennial homeless. It costs ,3000 dollars per square foot to house them or average 685,000 dollars per person at a one time initial cost to house. this does not include and administration or health needs evaulations. I would extrapolate that the mental health needs and associated medications and ongoing care many will need in perpetuity to cost about 500% more than the average cost for a typical consumer. At 70,000 persons( some are family's) and the amount the city currently spends, it will cost $49,000,000,000 billion dollars +/- six thousand million dollars.( 6 billion)
The question is, who keeps that change?
Thew homeless count is not correct. I'm homeless in Long Beach and they did not count everyone. They ignored camps that they knew people were in to get the numbers lower to show some progress. The numbers are false.
Everyone needs to look at the whole picture here. Being an homeless individual at one time I understand the real problem. 1) no county or state benefits until you clean up or seek mental health help. Educate yourself my your problem..
the homeless are not really homeless they came to get 3 apartments and rent them out by la family housing black tashnag retaliate against ramgavars from Beirut and get their hands on me , got raped and still powerless got robbed and still the only survivor from a nice educated family, I'm tired of seeing set up to fail and ambushed by black and Turkish where they are living in luxury compared to where they came from and my family and my cash money vanished to support them the ugly and the unsaved from dirt poor and cheap loving places. im really sorry to tell you the corrupted housing authorities poor sick conditions, I have my doubts on the cypriots surveillancers m. e . I. institutes money making schools graduates gay group.
billions and billions of dollars have come into the city of Los Angeles for housing. Where did that money go? it sure didn't go to building buildings for the chronically homeless. instead they're putting them in established permanent supportive housing with no rules and no regulations. the people are bringing their encampments to this building. it's disgusting. setting up encampments in hallways it's insane. mismanagement of funds
Billions of dollars have come into the city of Los Angeles for housing. Where did that money go? it sure didn't go to building buildings for the chronically homeless. instead they're putting them in established permanent supportive housing with no rules and no regulations. the people are bringing their encampments to this building. it's disgusting . they are setting up encampments in hallways, drugs and drug sales everywhere and the list goes on . it's insane mismanagement of funds
I've been homeless for 8 years in Sunland CA with 2 medical issues my worker the told me I was offered a voucher and I refused it I wasn't even at the park that day I spent the night with my x boyfriend and he died the next morning once they put in the paperwork you refused a voucher they don't help you anymore period
I've experienced homelessness myself. Statistics are showing numbers going down. Do those numbers include the people that die on the street that were never housed? I lost a dear friend that was homeless that layed there and died in a dried up wash on a hot summer day.