SACRAMENTO, CA - On June 14, 2023, the state of California awarded a $60 million grant to the Los Angeles County’s Department of Health Services, which will set forth an initiative to provide interim housing and services for more than half of Skid Row’s unhoused population over the next three years. Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles) expressed the importance of the recent allocation, which marks a significant investment to address the dire needs of Skid Row.
Assemblymember Carrillo serves as Chair of the Assembly Budget Sub4 committee on State Administration which oversees the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, part of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, which has allocated a $191-million Encampment Resolution Fund grant to 22 communities. The effort is a hallmark of collaboration between Governor Gavin Newsom and the Legislature to address homelessness by providing communities of all sizes with funding to transition people from encampments into housing.
The grant will also assist the existing Skid Row Action Plan in Los Angeles, which is focused on providing immediate relief to the neighborhood via interim housing and support services. The new state grant will further boost the scope and speed of the initiative, targeting Skid Row’s population.
Assemblywoman Carrillo, who spearheaded efforts allocating $750 million in resources for encampments in last year’s budget, issued the following statement:
“Skid Row is the epicenter of a national homelessness crisis. While this crisis has grown at the heart of the City of Los Angeles, it requires an all hands on deck approach from all sectors of government. This state investment at the tune of $60 million, will allow for the implementation of the Skid Row Action Plan and will allow us to make significant progress against poverty, homelessness, substance abuse and services for those with mental health challenges. African-Americans and Latinos are greatly overrepresented in Skid Row’s population, further highlighting the need for solutions that are equitable and conscious of the disproportion. We all need to lift up our sleeves and get to work to ensure the unhoused residents of Skid Row receive resources and interim housing that takes them off the street.”
“The housing crisis remains one of the state’s greatest and most persistent sources of adversity, and we need to allocate adequate resources to combat and reduce the amount of individuals that face this issue. This grant will expedite the timeline for taking individuals off the street and provide pathways to recovery and stability.” concluded Assemblywoman Carrillo.
"Yet again, we are seeing the real, tangible results of locking arms at every level of government," said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. "The County has been there with us every step of the way as we implement Inside Safe and take steps to continue to bring Angeleneos inside in other ways. By working together, we secured this funding, which will be instrumental in housing Angelenos living in Skid Row by bringing in critical interim housing resources. We are facing a crisis in our city and Skid Row is the historic epicenter — but announcements like this show that we can make progress on this issue.”
“I thank Governor Newsom and Secretary Castro Ramírez for recognizing the importance of issuing these funds to serve our Skid Row community,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District. “This is the first step towards implementing the Skid Row Action Plan which I have been championing with local partners and stakeholders. As the heart of the overdose crisis, Skid Row residents deserve the dignity of housing where they can receive the care they need. This action will help to bring hundreds of people indoors quickly and support their path to recovery.”
According to LA County officials, interim housing facilities will bring more than 2,500 unhoused individuals off of the streets, with a further 2,000 set to be placed in permanent housing. The county will also create a 24/7 safe landing facility in Skid Row that will afford access to clinical services to the nearby residents.
Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo was elected to the California State Assembly in December 2017. She represents the 52nd District of California, encompassing East Los Angeles, Northeast Los Angeles, and parts of Glendale. She has served as the Chair of Budget Sub-Committee #4 on State Administration, and a member of the Appropriations, Health, Housing and Community Development, and Utilities and Energy Committees, as well as Chair of the Select Committee on Latina Inequities.
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