A city program aiming to provide housing to those living in encampments in Los Angeles is launching in South Los Angeles and continuing on the Westside, Mayor Karen Bass announced recently.
“Inside Safe,” an initiative started by Bass, has housed a number of people near the intersection of Culver Boulevard and South Slauson Avenue, and at the intersection of West 87th Street and Western Avenue.
According to Bass’ office, the Inside Safe Initiative will work to identify the “highest need encampments’’ that have a chronic and high demand for services. Using citywide coordination between various departments and agencies, the plan calls for identifying interim housing and eventually permanent housing resources for each person living in the encampments.
Bass announced the program after declaring a local state of emergency over homelessness in her first week in office. Officials with the mayor’s office said more than 100 people were housed as a result of the first two Inside Safe sites in Hollywood and Venice.
Bass recently visited the South Los Angeles site and spoke to residents of encampments, who she said were “happy to move into temporary housing.’’
Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson said workers were “able to use a compassionate approach to house people who had been seeking shelter while completely clearing the sidewalk.’’
Councilmember Traci Park, who worked with Bass’ office at the Venice site, said she was optimistic about the program making a positive impact.
“I’m proud to partner once again with Mayor Bass to bring much-needed resources to the Culver Boulevard area,’’ Park said. “I’ve heard loud and clear how important this was for the local community, and I am so relieved that people living on the streets are going to be offered a safe place indoors.’’
In Monday’s roundtable with members of the Black press, Bass said that one of the tent dwellers she met on Western Avenue really needed help. HOPICS (Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System), the Services Planning Area 6 (SPA 6) lead, then used a former bank building there as an intake site.
“He was assessed on the spot,” Bass said. “There was a nurse right there on the spot. I was really happy about that.”