Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had a straightforward solution to the city’s homelessness crisis: dependence on the “humanity and generosity of the private sector.”
In Bass’s State of the City address, the mayor announced the LA4LA initiative, which will lean on the city ’s wealthy to house the over 40,000 homeless.
“We are asking the most fortunate Angelinos to participate in this effort with personal, private sector, and philanthropic funds to help us acquire more properties, lower the cost of capital and speed up housing,” Bass said.
Bass said those funds will go to master leasing and purchasing motels, hotels and already built permanent housing .
The city is hoping that spending capital, which Bass hopes could come from some of the city’s residents, on the homeless will ultimately reduce a heavy financial burden of “thousands and thousands of fire, paramedic and police calls.” Bass also lamented the opportunity cost of the homeless crisis – a cost that occurs when tourists skip out on LA and employees and employers leave downtown.