LA CAN is supportive of creating more shelter beds in the City of Los Angeles. Our support, however, is
contingent upon several recommendations and demands; is in no way meant to minimize our fight to
secure the human right to housing in Los Angeles, housing, not shelters, is the only way to end
homelessness; and, will never be blindly given in exchange for the criminalization and incarceration of
Black bodies. Mayor Garcetti's proposed "shelter plan" does just that.
It doesn't take much work to figure out the real intention behind the proposed plan. In reality, it takes
more work to ignore the obvious as Mayor Garcetti has stated his goal time and time again. But for
some reason, many Angelenos still have a blind allegiance towards his leadership - even though there is
more than enough reason to stay far away. Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they
are, believe them the first time," it would do many in our City of Angels some good to heed this advice.
On its face, the plan seems straight-forward although limited in scale when compared to the size of the
problem. $20 million from July through January 2019. 15 shelters, $1.3 million per council district. 100
beds per shelter, 1500 new shelter beds. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority will contract the
shelters to local community providers.
According to the 2017 homeless count the City of Angeles has roughly 25,000 "unsheltered" people
living in tents, vehicles and on sidewalks. There are currently 7,476 interim housing beds in the city
which amounts to 29% of the actual need. The current Koreatown shelter debate illustrates those gaps
in real time. The 2017 homeless count identified 368 homeless people living in Koreatown. The
proposed shelter is estimated to hold up to 65-beds, which is roughly 18% of what's needed. Increased
enforcement is a signature feature of the plan.
Pay attention. It’s the cheapest thing you can buy. The reward for communities that house a shelter is
the promise that the city will keep it clear of encampments. Communities are not required to provide
shelter commensurate with the number of people needing it before enforcement begins. The only thing
a community needs to do to get increased enforcement is house a shelter.
“Districts that stand up emergency shelters -- and only those districts -- will get the benefit of these new
sanitation teams,'' Garcetti said.(SOTC 2018 n.d.; KCET 2018) The area around the shelter would then
become a target zone for enforcement efforts by special LAPD Homeless Outreach and Proactive
Engagement (HOPE) teams and Bureau of Sanitation workers who would keep the area clear of
encampments. (Radio 700) “When the enforcement begins, the encampment will be removed, and we
will not allow for re-encampment in those targeted areas," Szabo said. (Radio 700)
Communities that don't build a shelter will not get the "benefit" of increased policing and encampment
removal. In other words, if you don't go along with the plan, your district will continue to receive current
levels of service. Or, more aptly stated: you'll be forced to suffer the consequence of a city lacking the
political courage and leadership to address its housing crisis.
Sound like bribery? Of course it does because that is what it is and Mayor Garcetti is not hiding the fact.
"To fund enforcement, Garcetti is proposing a $29 million boost in homelessness spending related to
city departments in the coming fiscal year, $17 million of which would go to the Bureau of Sanitation."
(Radio 700)
From the outset, you recognize the value of enforcement is higher than the shelter investment; $20
million for shelter and $29 million for enforcement. The $29 million represents an increase in current
spending for Sanitation and LAPD. A 2016 City Administrative Office (CAO) report noted that: Los
Angeles spends more than $100 million a year coping with homelessness, including as much as $87
million that goes to arrests, skid row patrols and mental health interventions. (Holland, Times) It appears
that Los Angeles continues on a trajectory that values handcuffs over house-keys.
Lastly, this enforcement remains heavily racialized. By 2016, there was one houseless arrest for every
two houseless people in the City of LA. This is 17 times the arrest rate among the total population of the
city.(MDH 2017.) African Americans represent the majority of all houseless arrests (37%) and the
majority of the houseless population (43%). (MDH 2017.)Arrest rates of houseless Latinos doubled
between 2011 and 2016, accounting for 53% of the increase in all houseless arrests. (MDH 2017)
-
Remove enforcement as a core strategy of the proposed shelter plan. Los Angeles must stop this
failed pursuit of attempting to arrest itself out of homelessness. LAPD must be immediately relieved of
all homeless outreach roles and related duties. -
Reallocate the proposed $29 million enforcement increase to things that provide housing options,
short and long-term. Numerous local housing strategies are being employed and could use this
additional investment. -
Direct the Chief Administrative Office (CAO) to audit current spending related to homeless
enforcement and sanitation and provide a detailed report within 90-days. -
Proposed shelters must operate on a 24-hr basis and include accommodations for pets, families,
gender non-conforming guests, disabled guests, etc. Additionally, shelters can't limit entry based on
religious belief, race, substance use, or other restrictions designed to keep potential guests out. -
Proposition HHH resources must not fund shelter and enforcement efforts. Prop HHH initially
estimated a total of 10,000 units would be built as a result of the $1.2 Billion Bond Authority. New
estimates have that number closer to 6,000 total units, only if the remaining authority is used for
housing units. The only way to end homelessness is to house people. We must not use resources
earmarked for housing on temporary shelters and policing. -
Do not proceed in a manner that pit communities against one another. The proposed shelter in
Koreatown has reopened and surfaced levels of deep anti-Black resentment not witnessed since the
1992 Rebellion/"Saigu". This sentiment definitely does not represent the entire Korean community,
many of whom stand in strong solidarity with Black people in Los Angeles. But proceeding haphazardly
jeopardizes decades of work which extends well beyond the building of a shelter.
“2018_SOTC_AS_PREPARED_FOR_DELIVERY.Pdf.” n.d. Accessed May 24, 2018.
https://www.lamayor.org/sites/g/files/wph446/f/landing_pages/files/2018_SOTC_AS_PREPARE
D_FOR_DELIVERY.pdf.
Chiland, Elijah. 2018. “LA Mayor Declares ‘Shelter Crisis’ to Address Homelessness.” Curbed LA. April 16,
2018. https://la.curbed.com/2018/4/16/17243382/los-angeles-homeless-shelters-garcetti-plan.
Holland, Gale. n.d. “L.A. Spends $100 Million a Year on Homelessness, City Report Finds.” Latimes.Com.
Accessed May 24, 2018. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeless-cao-report-
20150416-story.html.
“MDHHouselessReport-3.Pdf.” n.d. Accessed May 24, 2018. http://milliondollarhoods.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/10/MDHHouselessReport-3.pdf.
Radio, Southern California Public. 700. “Garcetti’s New Homeless Plan: More Shelters, More
Enforcement.” Southern California Public Radio. 00:03 700.
https://www.scpr.org/news/2018/04/16/82272/la-mayor-proposes-new-homeless-plan-more-
shelters/.