Bass Says She Has Housed 18,000 Angelenos. But Will They Stay Housed?

Published Nov 28, 2023 5:00 AM

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L.A. Mayor Karen Bass says her administration has housed more than 18,000 unhoused Angelenos since she came into office in December 2022. That means that she’s kept her campaign promise of housing 17,000 people within her first year.

But the vast majority of the people who have been housed — 18,792 people — have gone into temporary housing, not permanent. That means they are at higher risk for ending up back on the streets.

Homelessness in LA

Mayor Bass promised to house 17,000 Angelenos during her first year in office. How’s she doing so far? Our Promise Tracker is keeping tabs on Bass' progress tackling homelessness in L.A.
Check on her progress.

Temporary housing includes group shelters, tiny home villages and hotel or motel rooms. They often come with rules like curfews, restrictions on visitors and pets, and limits on how many possessions a resident can bring.

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While some people might move from temporary housing into permanent housing, other people end up leaving temporary housing and go back to living on the streets. For instance, about 16% of the people who moved into temporary housing under Bass’ Inside Safe program returned to homelessness, according to data from mid-September.

Meanwhile, just 3,283 people went into permanent housing in the same time frame. (Some of the 18,792 people moved into temporary housing might have then moved into permanent housing.)

Permanent housing is meant for long-term living — like an apartment with a yearlong lease you can renew. The government subsidizes permanent housing programs through vouchers or constructing new developments, like those funded by Proposition HHH. Housing advocates say the stability that comes with permanent housing is critical for helping people keep their jobs, get treatment for addiction or mental health, and stay off the streets.

So, how many people are being housed and staying housed? The official data, which is collected by the L.A. Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), doesn’t answer this question. It only tells us how many people entered a housing program in a certain timeframe.

Bass said her administration is working to improve LAHSA’s current data systems. And as Bass heads into her second year, LAist will be working to keep track of the number of people moving from temporary to permanent housing via the Promise Tracker.