Councilmember Ridley-Thomas’ Statement on His Appointment to Chair the Homelessness and Poverty Committee

Los Angeles, CA – “I want to thank Council President Martinez for this appointment. I am honored to continue the important work of addressing the moral crisis of our time—homelessness—at the City level. Los Angeles is the epicenter of homelessness, and with the crisis within a crisis of COVID-19, its resulting economic downturn and persisting racial inequities, we must do more, and do it with utmost urgency so that we don’t bear witness to even more devastating trends.”

“As I said during my welcome remarks at today’s Council meeting, my objective as a member of the City Council and as Chair of this committee is to help get us to a place where we no longer talk about homelessness as a challenge that can be addressed a few projects and policies at a time. We must carefully rethink our response and create a comprehensive framework for establishing a ‘Right to Housing’ in order to bestow on each and every Angeleno the dignity and well-being that we all deserve.”

“I look forward to working with my fellow committee members, who I am sure share these sentiments as well. The status quo is simply unacceptable.”