LA homeless encampment cleanups provide only temporary relief, report says

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The city of Los Angeles' attempt to get as many unhoused Angelenos off the streets and into housing isn't working, according to a recent study.

In findings published earlier this month, the nonprofit Rand corporation studied three areas in Los Angeles - Hollywood, Venice and Skid Row - between 2021 and 2023. Data showed that the unhoused population stabilized over that period, while the annual rate of growth was approximately 10% in prior years.

However, the study showed encampments removed in these areas were re-populated within two to three months on average. Data from 2023 found that more than half of individuals surveyed reported experiencing a chronic mental health condition, about half reported a chronic physical health condition, and a similar number reported a substance abuse disorder.

"We found continuing evidence that local encampment cleanup activities don't appear to lead to a persistent reduction in the number of unsheltered residents in the area," Jason Ward, the report's lead author and an economist at the Santa Monica-based think tank, said in a statement. "They just tend to move them around and the numbers tend to
return in our relatively small area to previous trends pretty quickly."

After taking office in December 2022, Los Angeles Mayor Bass immediately launched her Inside Safe initiative, a program aimed at reducing tents and other encampments across city streets and bringing unhoused individuals into temporary housing.

Bass' office issued the following statement:

"According to the LAHSA 2024 Homeless Point-in-time count overseen by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Dept. which evaluates the entire city, street homelessness is down by 10% for the first time in years and more people are moving into permanent housing than years before.

The number of homeless residents counted in Los Angeles County has dipped slightly, decreasing by about 0.3% since last year, according to the most recent Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.

Results released from a federally required tally conducted in January found 75,312 people were homeless on any given night across the county, compared with 75,518 in 2023. About 45,252 were within the city of Los Angeles.

City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.