H4WRD Great Reads for December '24

• LA Times, 12/15: Venice homeless housing development continues in limbo as councilmember declares the project dead
  • The California Coastal Commission approved a 120-unit affordable housing project in Venice, one day after a city panel denied a land transfer to the developer, a move that Councilmember Traci Park said effectively killed the housing plans. The back-and-forth continues years of uncertainty over the Venice Dell Community Project with a former mayoral staffer saying he was directed to stop working on the project in a “highly unusual” move.
  • NOTE: Recognizing that the successful completion of the Venice Dell may prevent inflow of homelessness to surrounding communities, H4WRD has joined a large coalition through LA Forward to advocate on behalf of the project moving forward.
• LAist, 12/8: How is California’s big plan to get help for people living with mental illness going in LA? Depends on who you ask
  • The number of people in Los Angeles County who participated in the first year of CARE Court, a program aimed at providing court-led treatment plans for people who live with serious mental illness, remains far below initial state projections, according to data from county mental health authorities. Numbers from LACDMH show the county received about 16% of the petitions it was projected to get during the first six months of the program.
• LA Daily News, 12/10: 1 in 4 interim housing beds in LA went unused over 5 years
  • Over a five-year period from 2019-23, one in four city-funded shelter beds went unused, costing Los Angeles taxpayers an estimated $218 million, City Controller Kenneth Mejia announced. “This is unjustifiable,” Mejia said in a statement. “Any bed that goes unfilled means an unsheltered person living on the streets is waiting longer than they need to move into a safer space and begin their path to permanent housing.”
• MyNewsLA.com, 12/10: LA City Council Finalizes Measure ULA Programs, Expands Funding for Renters
  • Renters in Los Angeles can anticipate more support from the city after Tuesday’s expansion of programs under Measure ULA (aka the “mansion tax”), including eviction defense, rental assistance and income support for seniors and people with disabilities. In a 12-0 vote, the City Council approved final guidelines for Measure ULA housing production and homelessness prevention initiatives, as well as plans to use more dollars generated by the tax.
• LA Times, 12/14: L.A. to boost pay for nonprofits at its homeless shelters
  • The Los Angeles City Council hiked the rate that it pays for services at many of its homeless shelters on Friday, in an attempt to keep nonprofit contractors from pulling out of more than a dozen sites. The council passed a 12-2 vote to increase the rate it pays to $80 per night, up from a range of $60 to $66, at its congregate shelters, tiny home villages and other facilities. The increase, which would cover thousands of shelter beds, is set to begin Jan. 1.  

PLEASE NOTE: Hollywood 4WRD offers "Great Reads" in an effort to expand our community's awareness about the complicated issues surrounding homelessness.

‍Enjoyed any good books, articles or podcasts lately? Please contact us if you have a 'great read' recommendation to add to our growing collection.

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