California Senators proposed yesterday spending $2 billion to help solve California’s homelessness crisis. The money would go towards permanent housing for mentally ill people, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Earlier this year, the city of Los Angeles created a committee intended to help get the city’s nearly 23,000 homeless off the streets and into housing. That committee is presided by Councilman José Huízar, whose district includes both Boyle Heights and downtown’s Skid Row.
In LA city and county, elected officials have committed $100 million each to getting people off the streets. The Times reports that state officials estimate federal and local funds could create somewhere from 10,000 to 14,000 housing units.
Homelessness jumped 12 percent from 2013 to 2015. Last year Boyle Heights was included in the Los Angeles homeless count, part of a biannual national count mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Homeless numbers are expected to jump again when the 2016 count is conducted later this month.
The $2 billion proposal now has to be negotiated with the California State Assembly and Governor Brown’s office.
