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Can new 'HOPE' teams help homeless people get off the streets?
A homeless man sleeps beside the wall on the sidewalk along a street in downtown Los Angeles, California on February 9, 2016.
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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
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Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday announced a new partnership aimed at connecting the homeless population with housing resources.
The LAPD, the Department of Sanitation and L.A. Homeless Services Authority are forming "HOPE" teams, which will seek out the homeless and put them in touch with L.A. Family Housing. The ultimate goal is helping them secure a permanent residence.
The first team is working now in the San Fernando Valley.
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, president and CEO of L.A. Family Housing, tells KPCC one family — two parents and multiple children living in an RV, without electricity or water — has already benefited.
"They connected with them and they brought them to L.A. Family Housing so that we could continue that family's next step," she says.
Other HOPE teams launch in October. Their service areas will be based on LAPD bureau locations.
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