LA City Council Pledges $12.4 Million To Provide Beds, Shelter For Homeless

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved $12.4 million to be used to provide immediate housing for the city's sizable homeless population ahead of what is predicted to be a particularly stormy winter.

The money will go towards adding more shelters and beds for about 1,300 homeless people. It will also go towards hiring personnel to do community outreach and notify the homeless of the additional resources that will become available. By some estimates, there are more than 20,000 homeless people in Los Angeles.

In a one-night sample taken this year and last year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found a 20 percent increase in the homeless population in L.A. County -- accounting for all areas except Glendale, Pasadena and Long Beach.

The challenge of providing assistance to those people is heightened this year, as weather forecasters expect strong rainstorms from El Nino.

The $12.4 million of funds is coming from the city's surplus, officials said. The money is counted towards the $100 million that Mayor Garcetti and others on the city council have pledged to spend to combat homelessness.

"This problem has been months and years in the making," Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

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