In a new attempt to address the homeless crisis in California, the city of Los Angeles has agreed to provide nearly seven thousand beds to homeless people who are living within 500 feet of freeways.
According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, there's an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 homeless people currently living under or near local freeways.
But after recent weeks of court-supervised negotiations, the city has agreed to donate 6,700 beds within the next year and a half in order to help relocate some of those people. The deal also states that priority for donated beds would be given to those who are 65-years and older and those who are considered 'medically vulnerable'.
This agreement comes after the LA Alliance for Human Rights filed a lawsuit accusing public officials of ignoring the city's growing homeless crisis. According to Los Angeles Council President Nury Martinez, this deal is a concrete way for the city to finally take steps towards addressing the statewide crisis...
“I think everyone’s done with the rhetoric,” she said. “You can’t go back to our neighborhoods and try to pitch another policy, another strategy. We just need to act, and we need to do it immediately.”
The state has also committed to providing local officials with more funding in order to better address the homeless situation in Los Angeles County.
Read the full report on the Los Angeles Daily News.