Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass recently called on the more fortunate members of the city to assist in funding housing for the homeless. The city has had to explore new strategies in recent years to tackle the homelessness crisis as levels have soared.
Reportedly, Los Angeles has a staggering homeless population of roughly 40,000 homeless that the city is struggling to house. “We will not hide people but what we will do is house people,” the liberal mayor said. “The crisis on our streets is nothing less than a disaster.”
However, Bass boasted the success of her recent initiative that relocated approximately 21,000 homeless people to temporary shelters that would help them get back on their feet. The mayor claimed that the strategy of moving homeless people to temporary housing would assist in ending the crisis the city faces.
While this sounds like a feasible strategy, there is the undeniable financial component that comes along with housing tens of thousands of people. Therefore, Bass asked the city’s wealthier residents to help “speed up” the purchases for those living on the streets.
“Right now, we’re working to move past nightly rentals. We are asking the most fortunate Angelenos to participate in this effort, with personal, private sector and philanthropic funds – to help us acquire more properties, lower the cost of capital and speed up housing,” she said. “This is the mission of our new capital campaign, LA4LA.”
Bass further called out the impacts the rampant homelessness has had on Los Angeles, where she explained how the crisis has driven away businesses and their customers, created a massive financial burden for the city and its taxpayers, and as well as safety concerns.”I will just not accept this and our city can’t afford to accept it,” she maintained.
She added that the city’s new program will require “humanity and generosity of the private sector.” The mayor further claimed, “LA4LA can be a sea change for Los Angles, an unprecedented partnership to confront this emergency, an example of disrupting the status quo to build a new system to save lives.”
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Homelessness has become a significant issue across countless metropolitan areas across the United States in recent years. The American Tribune has consistently reported on the ongoing crisis and the subsequent impact it is having on localities.
If Los Angeles’ homeless problem sounds bad, New York City is reported to have well over 100,000 homeless individuals living on its streets. “As of mid-August, there were more than 110,000 people sleeping in the city shelter system each night. And that number doesn’t include the 1000s of unsheltered people who sleep on the streets,” a report from last year stated.
“Let me tell you something, New Yorkers. Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don’t see an ending to this. I don’t see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City,” stated New York City Mayor Adams, emphasizing the dire nature of the crisis in the Big Apple.
Featured image: Office of Congresswoman Karen Bass, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons