LOS ANGELES – The City Council today approved the purchase of the Mayfair Hotel, which will provide desperately needed permanent interim housing infrastructure to bring more people inside. The purchase builds on the early successes of Inside Safe by scaling effective interim housing solutions while lowering the costs associated with providing interim housing in hotels and motels.
Future Inside Safe participants staying at the Mayfair will have access to comprehensive onsite services, setting a new standard for supportive services and care in interim housing. There will also be onsite security, operating 24/7 inside and outside of the Mayfair. The purchase of the Mayfair for Inside Safe is part of a comprehensive, citywide strategy to urgently confront homelessness.
“We need to do all that we can to get Angelenos off the streets and into temporary housing as fast as possible while permanent housing is still being built. The proposed purchase of the Mayfair is an important step toward that goal. I want to thank Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, Council leadership and the Chairs of the Council Committee on Housing and Homelessness, Government Operations, and Budget, Finance and Innovation for partnering with me to bring people inside and save lives through a citywide approach,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “Together, with actions like this, we can sustain our momentum toward confronting the homelessness crisis.”
As part of Mayor Bass’ Inside Safe program, the Mayfair will operate vastly differently from the former Project Roomkey program. Key differences will be:
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Comprehensive services onsite – Robust funding has already been secured to provide for onsite comprehensive services and licensed medical, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, an onsite activities coordinator, housing navigation, and clinical health staff.
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Security – Additional, dedicated security on duty 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to integrate with and complement case management.
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Onsite facilities – Participants will have access to common areas and facilities within the building to socialize, participate in activities and programming.
Programming plans for the Mayfair are still in the early stages of development. The Mayor’s Office will actively engage the surrounding community, partners and the selected service provider as the facility prepares to begin operations in the coming months. The City will execute the purchase agreement following the City Council’s decision. Escrow must close by August 31, 2023.