The State of California awarded Los Angeles County a nearly $15 million grant to help 500 people living in Skid Row encampments transition to housing. It was part of a package of $48 million in Encampment Resolution Funding announced by Governor Gavin Newsom to eight communities statewide. They will join 19 communities who received grants earlier this year.
“This funding will be a lifesaver, providing outreach, interim and/or permanent housing to hundreds of women currently living in Skid Row, most of whom are Black and many of whom are survivors of domestic violence,” said Cheri Todoroff, executive director of the LA Homeless Initiative, which applied for the state grant in partnership with the LA Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and the City of LA. “Our goal is to provide these mothers, daughters, sisters, as well as gender non-binary, questioning, and transgender, people with trauma-informed care, which could include mental health and substance use disorder treatments, as well as a safe place to live, heal, and start anew.”
“Californians deserve clean and safe communities,” said Governor Newsom. “We have to take responsibility together to tackle the homelessness crisis and clean up our streets. I’m proud of my administration for rapidly clearing more than 1,000 encampments and putting individuals on a pathway to safe and stable housing with compassion and care.”
“By working in partnership with these eight grantees, we will assist 1,461 people who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness in encampments and help to restore public spaces to their intended uses,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez. “We continue to collect the best practices from all of the communities that have received grants and share those best practices in future rounds of the Encampment Resolution Fund program to develop long-term solutions.”
These eight grantees add to the 19 communities that received grants in February, which are serving more than 1,400 individuals.
The ERF program is a competitive grant available for Counties, CoCs, and cities of any size that aims to (1) assist local jurisdictions in ensuring the safety and wellness of people experiencing homelessness in encampments; (2) resolve critical encampment concerns and transition individuals into safe and stable housing; and (3) encourage a data-informed, coordinated approach. The ERF program also provides funding for robust technical assistance.
The California Interagency Council on Homelessness will provide extensive technical assistance to the grantees and is tracking the demonstration projects closely to capture encampment resolution best practices that can be shared with communities statewide.