Posted on 07/22/2024
ONE BIG THING: OPENING 52 NEW INTERIM HOUSING BEDS IN EAST HOLLYWOOD
What Happened?
52 new interim housing beds recently opened at the Jan Clayton Center on Sunset Blvd in East Hollywood with:
➡️ Mental health/addiction treatment
➡️ Job placement services
➡️ On-site permanent housing navigation and case management
These 52 beds, most of which are in private rooms, now serve as temporary homes for people who were previously living unhoused on the streets of Hollywood, East Hollywood, and Silver Lake. Our trusted service provider Volunteers of America, which already operates one interim housing site in District 13, has been working with our Homelessness Team and other agencies to bring dozens of people indoors from the surrounding community.
The Jan Clayton Center has been operating in Hollywood in various capacities for over 30 years, helping thousands of Angelenos get back on their feet after challenges with homelessness and addiction. Now for the first time, the center will be used by the city to house people currently living on the streets of District 13.
Why it Matters
These 52 new beds represent a 13% increase in the city’s interim housing beds for District 13, which can lead to a significant and lasting reduction in the area's unsheltered homeless population.
Last week, we covered how the LAHSA Homeless Count raw totals found that last year in District 13 there was a:
- 38% decrease in unsheltered homeless individuals
- 8% increase in sheltered individuals, which includes people living in interim housing sites like the Jan Clayton Center
- 5% increase in vehicular homelessness
- 38% decrease in tents.
- 42% decrease in makeshift shelters
Urgent housing solutions with mental health/addiction treatment like the Jan Clayton Center and the Mayor’s Inside Safe program are why we're beginning to turn around this crisis, and we need to push forward with this proven formula that we know works.
What's Next?
With hundreds of people still forced to live unhoused on the streets of District 13, we need to keep cutting red tape so we can open more temporary and permanent housing.
A few months ago, we covered the Six Steps it Takes to Open an Interim Housing Site in LA. With the Jan Clayton Center now open, our Homelessness Team will turn their focus to other promising sites currently being investigated – and if you have a site in District 13 that you think may be suitable for interim housing, safe parking, etc., email cd13homelessness@lacity.org.
Two More Quick Hits!
1. Another Inside Safe in Hollywood!
Continuing the momentum, we held our 10th Inside Safe operation this week – this time in Hollywood, near Sunset and the 101 – bringing inside about 25 people in partnership with the Mayor’s office and trusted service providers.
We’ve now housed over 400 people just through Inside Safe in District 13, in addition to the hundreds of other people housed in our district by our Homelessness Team, LAHSA, service providers, and other government agencies. Even though there’s still a long way to go until we’re out of this crisis, we are seeing more programs that work and more progress than ever before.
2. Mayor Vetoes Controversial Ballot Measure
Way back in February 2023, we introduced a motion with the goal of bringing real accountability for police officers who committed egregious misconduct.
But after a year of inaction from City Council, dozens of last minute amendments were introduced that:
- Created legal confusion and potential liability for the city, according to the City Administrative Officer, Chief Legislative Analyst, City Attorney’s Office, and even the Chief of the LAPD.
- Added a binding arbitration process for officers recommended for termination, which studies show decreases accountability nearly everywhere it’s implemented.
- Watered down other reforms to the “Board of Rights” disciplinary body.
After the City Council approved the last-minute changes, it looked like once again, a measure would be put on the ballot that was designed to decrease accountability, but disguised as a measure to increase accountability. As a legislator who cares deeply about this issue, I could not in good conscience vote for a proposal with so many loopholes.
On Monday, Mayor Bass vetoed the measure, writing that it “risks creating bureaucratic confusion with ambiguous direction and gaps in guidance.”
Now, City Council will hear the item again at the first meeting back from recess on July 30, and it would take 10 votes to override the Mayor’s veto.