Approximately 171,000 people in California are homeless, and that number has increased significantly over the past decade. If you live here, you probably haven't ignored the situation, as encampments have popped up on sidewalks and public parks across the state in recent years.
Although California has 12 percent of the nation's population, 30 percent of the nation's homeless population lives in California.
My colleague Jill Cowan recently wrote about a new program led by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass aimed at clearing the city's most visible encampments. Bass will take up her post at the end of 2022, and her program Inside Safe is central to her efforts to solve homelessness.
The program provides motel rooms to homeless residents who agree to leave encampments, a shift from clean-up efforts in which authorities clear encampments and force people out. But Inside Safe says he moved more than 2,100 people to shelters, but only 400 have since moved into permanent housing. That has led to criticism that the program is only a short-term solution, focused more on optics than on helping Angelenos who are perhaps most in need.
You can read Jill's full article here.
I spoke to Jill about more than a year of her articles and reporting. Our conversation, lightly edited, follows:
Why did you decide to focus on Inside Safe?
Because that was the mayor's focus. It was her most publicized program because it was meant to address some of the people who needed it most.
You reported that LA moved 21,000 people off the streets and into temporary housing in 2023, about 4,000 more than the previous year, through Inside Safe and other programs. Why does Bass' initiative appear to be more effective than its predecessor?
There are a few things Bass has done differently, not all of which are relevant to Inside Safe, but they can help you get started. The level of coordination and focus on specific camps was new for the inside safety. It was important to honor the shelter promise and that the shelter be individual rooms rather than the large congregate shelters where so much homelessness occurs. You may feel unsafe or have no privacy. Bass also emphasized relationships across government agencies, including with members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and federal leaders, to help keep everyone rowing in the same direction. Experts say the change is bigger than you think. .
You live in Los Angeles, do you notice fewer encampments as you drive or walk around the city?
I think so. It is never true that there are no encampments anywhere. But there are also many public spaces that once had wall-to-wall tent encampments that covered sidewalks and parks, many of which no longer exist. Many of the mayor's supporters point to Venice as an example, but the differences are stark. I live near Echo Park Lake, and while there was a lot of camping in the area during the pandemic, I've seen very few tents over the past year or so.
What are the objections to the program?
A long-standing criticism of Los Angeles, and many other cities,'s approach to homelessness is that it prioritizes the experience of housing residents at the expense of stabilizing housing for people experiencing homelessness. . To be clear, many progressives and homeless advocates say they prefer a common busing approach to sweeps, where people are forcibly removed from encampments.
But they say Inside Safe still essentially closes off large parts of public space to people who may not have a home but have the right to be in public. . That's because when campsites run out, cities and other agencies put up fences and sometimes enforce city camping ordinances to keep people from returning to the area.
What did Bass say in response to this criticism?
She is open about the fact that making tangible progress for the benefit of her constituents is her top priority, and Inside Safe, for all its imperfections, quickly gets people in need off the streets. He said he was rescuing them from. In her view, leaving them there while on a waiting list for temporary or permanent housing is not an option. She now sees her job as triaging situations in the time it takes to build more housing.
Wait, is she open about the fact that Inside Safe is about image? Or is she casting it in a different, less sarcastic way?
She spoke openly about the fact that it was designed in part to satisfy voters.
attractive. OK, is there anything else you'd like to share about this story?
However, this is an ongoing problem. Housing and homelessness experts told me that Bass is optimistic about her work and approach, but that she needs time.
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Amidst the chaos of the pandemic, there were moments of hope and positive change. What's the silver lining of the pandemic? Let us know at CAtoday@nytimes.com.
And before we leave, I have some good news.
Stacey Tertelian grew up in Fresno, but during a recent trip to Armenia, she said she discovered a deep connection to the country and it feels like home.
Tertelian, whose family has Armenian roots, decided to join a service program called the Armenian Volunteer Corporation in August 2023 after going through a difficult period in her personal life. On this trip she visited Armenia for the second time in her life.
Tertelian's volunteer work included assisting Armenians affected by the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. Then, in September 2023, Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno-Karabakh and took control of the region, forcing more than 100,000 Armenians to flee. Suddenly, Ms. Tertelian found herself on the front lines of the crisis, providing aid to refugees, and through that experience discovered a deep connection to Armenia and its people.
Tertelian describes the course-changing visit in a recent essay for The Fresno Bee. “A picturesque land rich in both beauty and history. Armenians know despair. They also know resilience. My journey embodies that spirit,” she said. wrote.