LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass, Supervisor Janice Hahn and Councilman Tim McOsker announced today that Mayor Bass’ Inside Safe initiative is underway in Harbor City. Inside Safe is a new, citywide, proactive housing-led strategy to bring people inside from tents and encampments, and to prevent encampments from returning. It is one feature in a comprehensive strategy to confront the homelessness crisis.
“We are bringing Inside Safe to more and more communities to save lives and restore neighborhoods,Mayor Bass said. “Thank you to Councilmember McOsker and our partners at the County for working with us to bring Inside Safe to Harbor City. This initiative is only possible because we are locking arms with the County, service providers and the community.”
“Thanks to this partnership between the County and the City, as well as the dedication of outreach workers who spent months building trust, we were able to help move people out of two of our largest encampments in the Harbor Area and into local motels,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Our work is not done here. The County and our partners are committed to providing these individuals the services and support they need to stay housed."
“When we work together across offices, departments, and jurisdictional boundaries, we can uplift and change lives,” said Councilmember McOsker. “From the Mayor’s Office, to the County leadership, to our local provider, Harbor Interfaith Services - we collaborated over many weeks and worked together the last two days to bring Angelenos inside at two of the One-Five’s largest encampments.”
This is the 18th Inside Safe encampment operation throughout Los Angeles. The initiative is responsible for bringing more than 1,200 Angelenos inside. Mayor Bass is moving Los Angeles forward with an urgent and strategic approach to confronting the homelessness crisis, which includes declaring a state of emergency, taking action to dramatically accelerate and lower the cost of building affordable and temporary housing, and moving to maximize the use of City-owned property for temporary and permanent housing.
Inside Safe supports the following five goals:
- Reduce the loss of life on our streets
- Increase access to mental health and substance abuse treatment for those living in encampments
- Eliminate street encampments
- Promote long-term housing stability for people experiencing homelessness
- Enhance the safety and hygiene of neighborhoods for all residents, businesses, and neighbors