Councilmember Mike Bonin
59m ·
A big impediment to ending homelessness in Los Angeles is that one hand of our bureaucracy too often doesn’t know what the other hand is doing. Either through state density bonus laws or city land use decisions, affordable housing gets built, but the units are not well linked to the people who need them.
For the past couple of years, I have been arguing that we should be requiring or incentivizing that affordable housing units be linked to our homeless service authority’s database so we can quickly match supply with demand.
Today, the City Council voted to approve legislation I authored calling on relevant city departments to report back within 90 days on opportunities to match people who are unhoused with new affordable housing units.
This is one of ten things I have proposed to help end homelessness in Los Angeles. Find out more about this idea, and the other nine, at
https://11thdistrict.com/10things/ ---------
And my reply...
Some other ideas...
There can be hostels like in Rome, Italy, where people can take a nice hot shower and where they can sleep in a nice comfortable bed for $15 per night.
There can be bed and breakfast type establishments.
The homeless drug addicts and alcoholics can get treatment at camps in Acton, and in Lake Hughes, etc, they can do the 12 Step Programs at the camps, and they can do 90 day treatment programs to get clean and sober.
Habitat for Humanity and Homeboy Industries and Chrysalis and others can help to build retirement housing for homeless people 55 and older, to get the homeless seniors off of the streets and into housing.
The foster youth can be helped when they are young so that they do not end up homeless when they turn 18, and we need more programs to help the foster youth, we need to help them to be be successful instead of homeless. Also, the foster youth can have internships at the movie studios, etc, we need to create opportunities for the foster youth.
We need programs to help the children who do not have fathers, we need to help the children who are at risk of becoming homeless.
We need to help the women who become homeless as they escape violence and abuse.
There can be more Wellness Centers such as the new Wellness Center in Orange, where people can go for help if they become homeless. And also in Orange County you can call 2-1-1 on your cell phone if you become homeless, and people will help you.
We need for the workers to be paid fair so that they can afford housing if they work, we need fair wages, and wages must match the cost of living. If you are honest and if you work hard, then you need to be able to afford a place to live. The unions can help the workers to be paid fair. People need to fight for fair pay.
The unions can help to connect homeless people with jobs, along with groups like Chrysalis and Homeboy Industries, and the employment office, etc.
Those are a few more ideas for you.
Keep up the great work!
Salute,
Tony V.