LOS ANGELES – Ahead of an Extreme Heat Warning in the Los Angeles region, Mayor Karen Bass yesterday housed Angelenos who were living in a long-standing encampment next to the 101 freeway in East Hollywood through Inside Safe. This previously entrenched encampment impacted the quality of life for many neighbors in the residential area. B-roll available here.
“Especially as we experience rising temperatures, our urgent work to bring Angelenos inside is now more important than ever,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “More than 20 Angelenos now have access to meals, air conditioning and running water and this sidewalk is now accessible to the neighborhood. Today is proof that Inside Safe saves lives and restores communities.”
"We know that getting people housed and connected to essential services is the number one most effective way to address the homelessness crisis in our City, and today, more than 20 of our unhoused neighbors were able to get a roof over their heads, a healthy meal, air conditioning, and access to resources they did not have before,” said Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez. “This is what progress looks like."
On her first day in office, Mayor Bass declared a state of emergency to urgently get people off the streets. Her signature initiative Inside Safe has brought thousands of people inside and resolved more than 100 often entrenched and longstanding encampments in every council district in the city. By breaking with the status quo, Mayor Bass has spearheaded needed policy changes that are preventing people from being housed, is accelerating the building of more than 30,000 units of affordable housing, advanced innovating housing solutions through LA4LA and is keeping people from falling into homelessness in the first place through a research-proven anti-eviction program led by the Mayor’s Fund.
This year’s Point in Time Count results show:
Homelessness reported to have declined for two years in a row in L.A. for the first time.
Street homelessness reduced by 17.5% since Mayor Bass took office in December of 2022. This is the largest decrease over two years since the Point in Time Count began in 2005.
The number of makeshift shelters, tents, cars, vans and RVs declined for a second time in a row, down 13.5%.
Permanent housing placements in Los Angeles City are at an all-time high.
Mayor Bass’ progress to save lives and reduce homelessness is measurable and visible. Earlier this month, the RAND Corporation released its annual report showing a 49% decline in the number of people experiencing street homelessness in Hollywood from last year to the year prior, drawing a connection to the work of Mayor Bass’ Inside Safe program. The report also showed a decrease in Venice. Inside Safe has conducted more than a dozen operations in the Hollywood area and monitors all locations to continue bringing people inside from those sites. In 2024, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released the results showing the first decrease in homelessness in Los Angeles City for the first time in years — bucking nationwide and statewide trends.