Oct. 21, 2025 7 AM PT
To the editor: Doug Smith’s article exposes a tough fact: Regardless of file spending, Los Angeles continues to battle with seen homelessness (“The L.A. homeless count misses people who aren’t in tents or cars, a new Rand study finds,” Oct. 16).
Mayor Karen Bass campaigned on a promise to deal with homelessness as an emergency, pledging to convey tens of hundreds indoors, reduce crimson tape and construct housing sooner. However, regardless of the $1.3 billion allotted towards the problem, the outcomes fall far in need of her guarantees. Even the Rand examine cited within the article reveals the annual homeless depend misses many “tough sleepers” — folks with out tents or vehicles who dwell completely uncovered. If the depend underreports, we’re congratulating ourselves on paper whereas the disaster deepens in actual life.
Throughout Los Angeles, residents see little seen change. I work in an space the place this disconnect is painfully clear. The constructing subsequent door to my workplace, as soon as a small motel and restaurant, was lately transformed right into a homeless shelter, straight throughout the road from a highschool. It was finished with out the enter of oldsters and enterprise homeowners. Now, the encompassing sidewalks are lined with folks sleeping outside — precisely what these applications have been meant to stop.
The Inside Protected strategy, whereas well-intentioned, has largely relied on short-term motel stays as a substitute of making lasting housing. Many people cycle again to the streets after a number of weeks as a result of there’s no follow-up help or everlasting placement.
Mayor Bass deserves credit score for focusing consideration and funding on homelessness, however the outcomes present a system that spends massively whereas managing, not fixing, the disaster. If we actually need to cut back homelessness — not simply relocate it — town should implement its personal zoning legal guidelines, monitor spending rigorously and prioritize actual housing options over non permanent fixes.
Hua Gu, Calabasas
