Resolution calls on City Councilmembers to build 222 units of homeless housing in every district across LA

Los Angeles City Councilmembers introduced a resolution today to commit to building at least 3,330 housing units for homeless people citywide by mid-2020.

The resolution calls on the city’s 15 councilmembers to create at least 222 supportive housing units in each of their districts using Measure HHH, a $1.2-billion bond measure dedicated to building supportive housing and other services for homeless people.

Seven councilmembers have committed to implementing the resolution in their districts, including its four co-authors—Herb Wesson, Jose Huizar, Nury Martinez, and Marqueece Harris-Dawson—along with Mike Bonin, David Ryu, and Paul Krekorian.

The remaining councilmembers will have the chance to commit to the resolution when it goes before the full council for a vote.

“With each councilmember’s pledge, Los Angeles is sending a message: Actions speak louder than words in the fight against homelessness,” Wesson says.

The initiative includes a timeframe for developing the units, and it seeks to have the promised housing approved by July 1, 2020.

Proposition HHH passed in November 2016 with the support of 77 percent of LA voters. Officials have said it will finance the construction of 10,000 units of affordable permanent-supportive housing within a decade.

The new resolution aside, the city has so far committed to funding nine projects using Measure HHH. Together, those developments will yield just 416 units of affordable housing. The first of those nine projects—a 122-unit building in East Hollywood—broke ground just two months ago.

“We are not going to solve or even make a significant dent in homelessness unless we are all part of the solution,” says Bonin. “It’s either all-hands-on-deck, or this ship is going to sink under the weight of this crisis.”

There are more than 34,000 people experiencing homelessness in LA on a given night, according to the most recent tally from the annual countywide homeless count.

• Measure HHH: Angelenos OK $1.2 billion bond to tackle homelessness [Curbed LA]
• First project funded by Measure HHH gets underway [Curbed LA]