Keeping Vulnerable Homeless Seniors Housed Post-Pandemic

Driven by a state of emergency, Los Angeles County has been working urgently to bring thousands of homeless people – specifically older adults and those with underlying health conditions – indoors to protect them from COVID-19. Now, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has filed a motion, co-authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn, urging Los Angeles County to develop a plan aimed at keeping these vulnerable individuals housed even after the pandemic has subsided.

“LA County is taking unprecedented steps to bring our most vulnerable indoors in the face of the COVID-19 crisis,” Supervisor Ridley-Thomas said. “As we move forward, we can’t just think short-term. We must be focused on keeping the thousands we intend to bring indoors housed for the long-term.”

If approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, April 14, the motion would direct the County’s Chief Executive Officer and various County Departments to develop a strategy within the next 45 days to provide long-term housing options for homeless people ages 65 and older who are being provided emergency housing during the pandemic.

“We’re using unprecedented resources to bring people off the streets and indoors during this pandemic,” said Supervisor Hahn. “This is the level of urgency that the homeless crisis has demanded for years and when the day comes that this pandemic is behind us, we need to ensure that we can take advantage of the progress we have made and make sure that the people we have found shelter do not end up back on the streets.”

Currently, the County of Los Angeles is collaborating on Project Roomkey with the State of California, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the Los Angeles County CEO Homeless Initiative, and other public and private partners to make 15,000 hotel rooms available to serve as temporary homes for people experiencing homelessnes who are particularly vulnerable to contracting the coronavirus, especially seniors and those with underlying health conditions.

As of April 8, 2020, the County has executed occupancy agreements for over 1,000 hotel rooms. Over 400 hotel rooms are already operating across the County with health, mental health, and other supportive services provided by County staff as well as non-profit partners.

“We should not be content with bringing our homeless neighbors indoors only when there is an emergency,” Supervisor Ridley-Thomas said. “It is critical to start assembling post-COVID-19 plans to ensure that they remain housed long-term.”

This motion continues action that Supervisors Ridley-Thomas and Hahn initiated on January 21, 2020, when the Board directed several County Departments to examine the Comprehensive Crisis Response Strategy issued by Governor Newsom’s Council of Regional Homeless Advisors and develop the framework for establishing a legal obligation to provide housing.

In a report back to the Board on March 24, 2020, a workgroup of County Departments proposed implementing or scaling up 16 of the Comprehensive Crisis Response Strategies. In addition, a pilot program was proposed that would focus attention on ensuring housing to people experiencing homelessness who were aged 65 years or older.

“The County has been working aggressively to address the homelessness crisis. With assistance from the State, the County could do even more to help people move into housing,” County CEO Sachi Hamai said in the report.

Tuesday’s motion calls for the County to report back in September, as part of the Board’s annual budget proceedings, with a longer-range implementation framework to ensure options to all homeless older adults who are willing to receive housing and services.