ONE BIG THING: HOW WE CUT STREET HOMELESSNESS BY 40% IN THREE YEARS
When we took office, the City had fewer than 400 interim housing/shelter beds for the over 3,000 people living on the streets in our district.
More than three years later, the number of people living on our streets has fallen by more than 40%. Homelessness remains at crisis levels, but in most areas of the district, the difference is visible.
How did this happen? Where did thousands of people go?
The answer wasn't a single policy or program. It was the result of years of coordinated investments in outreach, mental health/addiction services, and – most importantly – permanent housing (more on that below).
This timeline highlights some of the key interventions that helped reduce street homelessness in CD13 by nearly half — and how we’re going to change our strategies to continue making urgent progress.
January 2023 — Closing the Vacancy Gap
When we took office, up to 60 beds in CD13's shelters sat empty on any given night. That means 15% of our district's total interim housing capacity was going unused while thousands of people slept on the streets.
After we shifted to an approach that prioritized building trust with unhoused residents and using resources more efficiently, our shelters are now running at 95-100% capacity, with our homelessness team filling every bed the moment it becomes available.
March 2023 - Present — 25 Inside Safe Operations Move 750+ People Indoors
Over the past three years working with Mayor Bass, 25 Inside Safe operations have helped more than 750 people come indoors in CD13. 98% of people offered housing and services through Inside Safe in CD13 accepted, demonstrating that when people are offered a safe place to go and the support they need, they overwhelmingly say yes.
But emergency interventions alone won't end the crisis. Inside Safe has been instrumental in decreasing homelessness in CD13, but it's also one of the more expensive approaches available. The next phase of this work must focus on expanding permanent supportive housing, affordable housing, and cost-effective interim housing so we can help more people, more quickly.
June 2024 — Jan Clayton Center Open 52 New Beds in East Hollywood
The Jan Clayton Center added 52 new interim housing beds to CD13—the biggest expansion of interim housing in our district since we took office. The site provides private rooms, mental health and addiction treatment, case management, housing navigation, and job placement services, giving people the support they need to move from the streets toward permanent housing.
Since opening, the center has helped our Homelessness Team and Volunteers of America bring dozens of people indoors from the surrounding community.
One of the biggest lessons from our work is simple: outreach can't succeed if there isn't a bed available. Every time we expand interim housing, we create more opportunities for people to accept help. That's exactly what the Jan Clayton Center has done—and why expanding interim housing remains one of the fastest ways to reduce street homelessness while permanent housing continues to come online.
November 2025 — Hollywood Services Hub Opens
Funded by a $7.1 million State Grant secured by our office, the Hollywood Services Hub is a first-of-its-kind drop-in center providing immediate, low-barrier support to people experiencing homelessness.
In just eight months since opening, the Hub has helped 160 people move into interim housing and 10 people move into permanent housing, while providing thousands of essential services that help people stabilize, build trust with service providers, and take the next step toward housing:
- 12,845 showers
- 13,787 hot meals
- 20,309 bathroom visits
- 688 laundry loads
What Comes Next?
Late 2026 — St. Vincent’s to Become Housing with Medical Services
Over the past few years, we’ve proven that when we offer people a safe place to go and the services they need, they overwhelmingly choose to come inside. But as we make progress reducing large encampments, we also need new strategies to reach people who are living in more isolated, harder-to-reach situations, including those living with severe mental health issues.
The St. Vincent Behavioral Health Campus is one part of that next phase: bringing housing, mental health care, substance use treatment, and supportive services together in one place so people can move from the streets to stability. The first phase – a 205-bed interim housing facility at Seton Hall – is opening this year, with permanent supportive housing and additional mental health & medical services to follow. Once complete, St. Vincent will provide more than 800 beds and help build the long-term infrastructure we need to keep reducing homelessness.
Early 2027 — 51 New Interim Housing Beds at Sierra Vista Housing
Sierra Vista Housing will add 51 new interim housing beds in East Hollywood, including 10 beds for young people experiencing homelessness — allowing more people to come indoors while they connect with services and work toward permanent housing.
Nearly all units will be single occupancy with private bathrooms, alongside on-site case management to help residents access healthcare, find employment, and navigate their next steps toward stability.
Construction is underway with DignityMoves, and Sierra Vista is expected to open early next year, operated by Hope the Mission.
Permanent Housing
Temporary housing is just that—temporary. If we want to make lasting progress, every person who comes indoors needs a pathway to a permanent home.
After we took office, investments like Proposition HHH and Mayor Bass’ Executive Directive 1 helped accelerate the development of permanent supportive housing and affordable housing, creating more opportunities to help people move into interim housing, and ultimately into a home of their own.
But that momentum has slowed. Measure ULA in the City and Measure A in the County include important investments in homelessness prevention, but they are not enough on their own. We need a renewed urgency to build the affordable and supportive housing necessary to make even bigger steps forward in the years ahead.