100 days in, new LAHSA CEO says housing homeless isn't moving fast enough
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has announced it's working on a new transitional housing center to help bring more people experiencing homelessness in the city indoors.
The announcement comes as LAHSA's new CEO, Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum marks 100 days in the position. Adams Kellum said that while the organization has been working hard to bring more people indoors, things haven't been moving fast enough.
"We're seeing five out of six people staying housed from encampments," Adams Kellum said. "That means one in six has left. And we've had a 10% increase in homelessness according to the last homeless census."
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Edgar Ramirez is one of the more than 46,000 estimated to be living on the streets of Los Angeles. He sits on the lawn in the shadow of LA City Hall. When asked why he hasn't tried to find a permanent place to live, he said "I just haven't."
Adams Kellum acknowledged that there's still a housing shortage in LA, "but while we're building we need to get better at matching people to the homes that we already have. The good news is that we're moving in the right direction."
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While Adams Kellum said she's working on streamlining the processes for getting the unhoused moving through the system faster, people like Rodriguez said he isn't sure he wants a real roof over his head because he "can't stay still."
LAHSA's new Welcome Navigation Center will have more than 40 rooms, and LAHSA staff on hand to help residents prepare documents for permanent housing, among other services.
The new transitional housing center opens in September.