Last month, Los Angeles’ new mayor Karen Bass took office. Bass is a lifelong Los Angeles resident passionate about creating supportive solutions that address substance use, poverty, and crime. It comes as no surprise, then, that on her first day in office, she made the critical gesture of declaring a state of emergency around the homelessness crisis that has haunted Los Angeles for decades and has been dialed up to new heights throughout the pandemic.
Declaring a state of emergency over homelessness was Bass’ first official act as mayor. Los Angeles’ city council members agreed with Bass regarding the gravity of the homelessness crisis and approved her declaration without delay. Bass points out that the 40,000+ unhoused people in Los Angeles represent a more significant number than those who were displaced by the Northridge earthquake in 1994. She also speaks to the 200% increase in deaths of unhoused people due to a number of factors including drug overdoses, health disturbances, and violent crime.
This declaration does not translate to immediate solutions, however. Unlike a natural disaster or act of God, the federal government will not pour money into Los Angeles or offer direct resources. That said, the declaration can remove hurdles for Mayor Bass to move more quickly on specific projects, such as building affordable housing and shelters. During her campaign, Bass promised to help create and find housing options for about 17,000 people during her first year in office. Bass is committed to building housing throughout the city and hopes to develop ways for neighborhoods to organize themselves to decide where housing should be built.
Homelessness and injustice – particularly among women and children – are issues that Maryvale has been committed to addressing since we were founded in 1856. Through our Seton House program, we provide temporary housing to mothers and their young children with an intentional focus on breaking the cycle of homelessness and setting families up for permanent housing.
