Los Angeles County to declare state of emergency over homelessness
Tori Richards
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Politicians in the greater Los Angeles area are stepping up efforts to address the homelessness crisis after decades of exploding numbers brought on by permissive laws regarding outdoor camping and drug use.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to declare a state of emergency Tuesday, following a similar edict by the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, on her first day in office on Dec. 12. Long Beach is also in line to do the same with its new mayor.
Los Angeles County has 69,144 homeless residents, according to the last count conducted in 2022. This is a 4.1% rise from 2020, giving Los Angeles the dubious honor of having the nation’s second-highest count behind New York City.
Former Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who had a homelessness eradication task force, told the Washington Examiner the number was actually more than 80,000.
County officials said the increase was less than the 26% rise between 2018 and 2020.
“This is all driven by public reaction to the proliferation of homeless encampments over the past two or three years,” UCLA Professor Emeritus Gary Blasi told the Los Angeles Times. “Any politician who doesn’t make some progress on this is going to be in some significant trouble.”
Los Angeles County has newly elected supervisors, including Lindsey Horvath, who said the homelessness issue was something discussed with Bass during their campaigns. Bass made homelessness and crime her centerpiece during debates with challenger Rick Caruso, promising to take on the issues and clean up the City of Angels.
LA HOMELESS COMANDEER STREETSIDE EV CHARGING STATIONS
Gov. Gavin Newsom has also shown public interest in eradication by refusing to dole out more than $1 billion in state aid until he sees an accounting of past funds from cities and counties.
Yet just 18 months ago, he welcomed the world’s homeless to California, saying they would be “taken care of.”
“I’m proud of people from around the world looking at California again for opportunity, and that, again, that should not just be for certain people,” Newsom said in a press conference. “All people should aspire to that California dream regardless of their income level and regarding their lot in life.”
Over the decades, California’s strict crime laws have been whittled away, including downgrading many drug charges from felonies to misdemeanors. This has created open drug dens, primarily in homelessness camps, throughout major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego.
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Anti-camping laws have also been struck down by the courts, with some restrictions, following an ACLU lawsuit defending the right of homeless individuals to sleep on the streets.