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25 accomplishments from 2025

Posted on 01/06/2026
Councilmember Soto-Martinez and SAFE members

25 in 25: A YEAR IN REVIEW

To close this whirlwind of a year, here are 25 of our biggest collective accomplishments from 2025:

 

  1. An independent study by researchers at the RAND Corporation found that unsheltered homelessness decreased 49% last year in Hollywood, leading to a “near total elimination of encampments.”

 

  1. For the first time EVER, LA’s annual Homeless Count showed a decrease in homelessness for two years in a row. 

 

  1. And for the second consecutive year, the number of people exiting homelessness into Permanent Supportive Housing reached an all-time high.

 

  1. We passed the first update to LA’s rent stabilization law in 40 years, capping rent increases at 1–4% based on inflation, down from 3–10%.

 

  1. Our Housing & Homelessness Prevention team help hundreds of families stay in their homes and off the streets:
    • 1,115 doors knocked of tenants facing eviction
    • 668 renters connected via phone
    • Over $350,000 in legal support and direct financial assistance

 

  1. We spent over $400 million to make housing more affordable for working people thanks to Measure ULA. 

 

  1. We passed wage increases for 23,000 tourism workers — guaranteeing affordable family health care and raising wages to $30/hour by 2028.

 

  1. The Unarmed Model of Crisis Response expanded to three new service areas and now covers nearly 50% of the city. It also recently started diverting calls from LAFD to speed up response times.

 

  1. Crime is down across nearly every category across the city, with homicides falling to a 60-year low. 

 

 

  1. We organized a district-wide Rapid Response Network to track ICE activity and support families when their loved ones are taken.   

 

  1. We provided direct assistance to families impacted by ICE raids:
    • $1.5 million in funding for deportation legal defense 
    • $850,000 in food and rent assistance
    • Support for 10,000+ families through food distributions

 

  1. We supported families affected by the Palisades and Eaton Fires, preventing rent hikes for those housing fire survivors, and launching a donation hub with Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez.

 

  1. To aid rebuilding efforts, we helped save an old home by relocating it from East Hollywood to Altadena instead of tearing it down.

 

  1. We opened four newly renovated playgrounds this year at:
    • Unidad Park in Historic Filipinotown
    • Chevy Chase Park in Atwater Village
    • Juntos Park in Glassell Park
    • Madison West Park in East Hollywood

 

  1. After opening 52 new interim housing beds at the Jan Clayton Center in Hollywood, we secured approvals to build 52 more interim beds in East Hollywood next year.

 

  1. Together with Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, we distributed 9,000 turkeys to fight food insecurity and spread Thanksgiving joy.

 

  1. We invested $1.5 million in discretionary funding to reduce the backlog of streetlight outages, while pushing for a permanent funding fix to keep our lights on long-term. 

 

  1. We began a monthly free movie series at Barnsdall Art Park to showcase local artists’ work to thousands of supportive community members. 

 

  1. LA stopped burning coal, moving off of the fossil fuel that provided over 50% of our city’s energy as recently as 2003.

 

  1. We closed the “renoviction” loophole, which previously allowed landlords to evict long-term tenants by falsely claiming they needed to substantially remodel the unit. 

 

  1. Partnering with Streets are for Everyone (SAFE) we introduced “Sweeping Beauty” — the city’s first bike-powered, city-funded street sweeper.

 

  1. We passed a motion to crack down on abuses in the fast food industry, ensuring workers are safe and know their rights. 

 

  1. The 217 bus line along Hollywood Blvd saw the largest year-over-year increase of any bus line across Metro’s system after we installed the Access to Hollywood bike lanes. 

 

  1. Our motion to bring LA in line with other major cities like New York and Boston by developing a “graded response” model for protests — where heavily armed officers are staged a few blocks away and deployed only if a situation escalates to violence — passed the Public Safety Committee and will move to a full City Council vote in early 2026.

 

  1. We organized dozens of community cleanups across parks, neighborhood hubs, and community centers—and we’re ready to help you organize one too!