The Los Angeles Homeless Containment Thread (Fairview: apartment, house, unemployment)

[CA4Now]

A federal judge signed off Thursday on Los Angeles County’s commitment to produce 3,000 new mental health and substance use treatment beds, settling a 3½-year lawsuit that alleged city and county officials had done little to address homelessness, while adding language to ensure the agreement was transparent and effectively monitored.

“This is an extraordinary step forward,” U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said. “It’s going to save a lot of lives.”

Carter said that in his visits to Skid Row service centers he has seen people leave waiting rooms after growing impatient, but suspects they were included in the agency’s billings even though they received no services.

He said it was unlikely voters would approve new taxes — which would undoubtedly be required for the county to meet its obligations — if they were not confident the money was being spent efficiently.

The decision brings an end to a saga that has seen Carter alternately praise and berate public officials, hold court on the streets of Skid Row during the coronavirus pandemic, render a visionary ruling to end homelessness on Skid Row — only to have it overturned on appeal — and squeeze more and more money from a reluctant county...

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...treatment-beds

[CA4Now]

Columnist Steve Lopez interviews temporarily homeless people who are living in their cars in parking lots under SafeParkingLA, which was founded in 2017.

The evening I met Mays, he was parked near a 72-year-old unemployed chef. Nearby, a set of grandparents bedded down in a van they’ve been living in for two years. Not far from them, a 64-year-old healthcare worker told me she lost her husband to COVID, and then lost her house to foreclosure.

“I never thought I would be on this side of the fence,” she said, wiping away tears.

She was parked near Eduardo, 73, and his longtime partner Reina, 69, who live in their Chevy Cruze. He works as a messenger and she as a seamstress, but the pandemic limited her hours and then her factory closed. Eduardo told me they couldn’t handle the rent on a $650 backyard unit in Lynwood, so they moved into their Honda Accord, which conked out six months ago. Then they bought the used Chevy, which broke down two months later and cost them $2,000 in repairs.

https://safeparkingla.org/

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...ing-in-his-car

[CA4Now]

"A homeless housing project in West L.A., backed by Mayor Karen Bass and opposed by some neighborhood groups because of its proximity to residential homes, was approved by the Los Angeles City Council on Friday.

The council, with exception of one member who was absent, voted unanimously in favor of the 33-bed facility on a city-owned parking lot at Midvale Avenue and Pico Boulevard, across from the former Westside Pavilion. The council also decided that the project is exempt from a comprehensive environmental review."

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...eless-facility

[Thekdog]

It's getting worse. Karen Bass plan of temporary hotels is unsustainable

[CALGUY]

Ever since it was shut down, I have proposed that the old usc medical center be retro fitted and brought up to date as a place to house the homeless.
There are thousands of rooms there, and it would put a huge dent in teh amount of tents al over the city.
Instead of the city spending money and resources build/remodeling buildings to house the homeless, the medical center sits vacant, when it could be put to good use.

[Social Democrat]

Couldn't agree more. The old Sears building in east LA could also be converted to housing. Has a huge parking lot to boot.

[colobound65]

In OC Fairview Mental Hospital sits empty. I guess it’s true that the people in charge of Ca homeless really don’t want to fix it

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by colobound65

In OC Fairview Mental Hospital sits empty. I guess it’s true that the people in charge of Ca homeless really don’t want to fix it

Who knows, it might re-open in the future, if Gov Gav's idea to re-instate involuntary commitment to Mental hospitals comes to fruition.

[colobound65]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Who knows, it might re-open in the future, if Gov Gav's idea to re-instate involuntary commitment to Mental hospitals comes to fruition.

I’m not going to be holding my breath

[Kings Gambit]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

Ever since it was shut down, I have proposed that the old usc medical center be retro fitted and brought up to date as a place to house the homeless.
There are thousands of rooms there, and it would put a huge dent in teh amount of tents al over the city.
Instead of the city spending money and resources build/remodeling buildings to house the homeless, the medical center sits vacant, when it could be put to good use.

Are you sure that building is vacant?