With the Biden admin offering 100% reimbursement for local efforts to use hotels/motels to house our unhoused neighbors during the pandemic, LA needs to move aggressively to expand Project Roomkey to bring thousands of people indoors to safety.
Today, the Homelessness & Poverty Committee, chaired by @MRTempower, unanimously approved a motion from me and @nithyavraman calling for the city to use the promise of federal reimbursement to quickly and dramatically ramp up the use of hotels and motels for emergency housing.
The motion also directed the City Atty to report on whether the city can, if needed, commandeer and compensate motels/motels to get them to participate. (And City Atty issued a memo indicating the city can do so, echoing similar opinions from @mungertolles and @SFCityAttorney.)
The motion further called for officials to consult with unhoused residents, service agencies, and motel/hotel operators on how to expand and improve the program, finding ways to make it more attractive for residents, operators, and owners.
In 2020, four unhoused people died in LA every day, In January, the number rose to five. We MUST seize this opportunity to use every possible hotel and motel room for emergency housing -- and make sure it is a first and irreversible step to long-term housing.
With the city in a fiscal crisis, the pace of FEMA reimbursements is surely an issue, but it cannot be a roadblock. As @nithyavraman noted, we must prevail on the state of CA to help with the cash flow. Where there is a will (and a guaranteed reimbursement), there must be a way.
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