The County and City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), and other partners came together to help our unhoused neighbors during the recent storm.
Outreach teams, including those from the County’s Health Services, Mental Health, and Sheriff’s Departments, as well as LAHSA, contacted thousands of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness to enable them to take shelter from the rain and cold. They focused on people living near riverbeds, creeks, channels and other waterways that can become very dangerous during storms, as well as hillside areas prone to mudslides, and roads susceptible to flooding. They also engaged with unhoused residents who are particularly vulnerable, including the elderly, sick, frail, disabled, those with mobility limitations, and those without tents or makeshift shelters to stay dry. Survival supplies were provided to those who did not come inside.
LAHSA, coordinating closely with the County and City of Los Angeles, operates the Winter Shelter Program through March 31, 2024 to protect people experiencing homelessness during Los Angeles’s colder months. During severe cold and wet weather conditions, the Augmented Winter Shelter Program is activated to protect people experiencing unsheltered homelessness from contracting hypothermia, pneumonia, and any medical or health-related conditions by providing them with motel vouchers.
During the recent storm, LAHSA said about 1,000 people came into temporary congregate shelters and motel rooms spread across the County.
Those interested in the Winter Shelter and Augmented Winter Shelter programs should go to LAHSA’s website or call 2-1-1.