Garcetti Announces $1.5M Program To Help Homeless Women Living On Skid Row
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a new $1.5 million trauma-assistance pilot program Wednesday to help 100 homeless women living on skid row.
Speaking with advocates for the homeless, Garcetti said that the pilot program would provide the women with housing and trauma-informed care that would address issues of violence against homeless women. Garcetti said he would ask city council members to approve the expense immediately.
Along with addressing issues of violence and trauma, Garcetti said the city would do more to address the disproportionate number of black people in the city's homeless population. In total, Garcetti said the city planned to dedicate approximately $20 million to homeless issues on skid row.
Garcetti said there were more than 150 supportive housing and temporary shelter projects — with 13,000 bedrooms and shared bedrooms — that were currently fully funded.
"Los Angeles is adding more beds," he said. "We've opened our eighth bridge home shelter and they (the shelters) have been opening every two weeks."
The mayor also praised a recently signed state law that allows the city to bypass environmental reviews when building housing for the homeless. He said the law would speed up construction and save money for projects like the bridge home for women and children that opened Tuesday in Hollywood.
"The housing construction takes too long," he said. "It can cost too much, and we're fighting to change that. We know time is money, and having the white glove expert treatment that is here allows us to do that."
Each city council member has pledged to house at least 220 units in their individual districts.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
