The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion authored by Chair, Holly J. Mitchell and co-authored by Supervisor Kathryn Barger, that builds on the County’s commitment to addressing the homelessness crisis by establishing a countywide RV encampment pilot program prioritizing hot spot areas where crime and dilapidated RVs have increased over the past two years. The three-year pilot will engage at least 500 people living in recreational vehicles annually and dismantle a minimum of 900 inoperable RVs.
“The results from the 2022 Point in Time Homeless Count made it clear that we must continue to find solutions to prevent more of our family, friends, and neighbors from being forced to survive on the streets,” said Board Chair Holly J. Mitchell representing the Second District. “The County has aggressively been working to identify solutions to address the rise in RV encampments, this motion ensures we have a budget and a comprehensive plan to provide people living in RVs with safer housing options.”
“We’ve seen a significant rise in the number of RV encampments across the County in the past few years,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, representing the Fifth District. “Today’s motion urges Los Angeles County to recognize that fact and step up its efforts to get non-functional RVs off the road and establish a program that identifies areas where they can park safely and legally. Our homelessness crisis requires us to be creative and develop solutions that meet our vulnerable population’s needs. It’s the only way we’ll be able to make meaningful progress to lift people out of homelessness.”
In January of this year, the Board approved a motion authored by Chair Mitchell directing the County’s Chief Executive Office – Homelessness Initiative to identify hot spot areas for people experiencing homelessness that are living in RV encampments and recommendations for strengthening outreach and housing support to people living in RVs during the Covid-19 recovery. In response to the motion, CEO-Homelessness Initiative provided a report indicating there are approximately 5,200 RVs being used as shelter across the County and recommendations to comprehensively address the increase in RV encampments.
The motion helps actualize the strategies provided by CEO-Homelessness Initiative by calling for a detailed implementation plan that includes a budget within 120-days for launching a 36-month RV Encampment Pilot Program. The pilot will use data from the 2022 Point in Time Homeless Count to identify and establish at least one Safe Parking RV site in each Supervisorial District and create a Post RV Encampment Clean-Up Beautification Program.