OUR FUTURE L.A. COALITION URGES GOVERNOR NEWSOM TO SIGN SENATE BILL 679 AND BRING AMBITIOUS NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING SOLUTIONS TO L.A. COUNTY
Senate Bill 679 (Kamlager) would create a first-ever independent countywide housing and homelessness prevention agency to create affordable housing, prevent homelessness and support thousands of working families burdened by the recent spike in rent costs.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Members of the Our Future Los Angeles coalition are urging Governor Newsom to sign Senate Bill (SB) 679 into law before the September deadline. Passed last month by the California Legislature, Senator Sydney Kamlager’s bill would create the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA), which would have the ability to raise its own public and private revenue to fund solutions, such as the creation of affordable housing and permanent tenant assistance programs.
The movement to pass SB 679 joined together more than 100 diverse nonprofit organizations, elected officials, municipal governments, churches and faith based groups, trade unions, and tenants across Los Angeles. Last month, the group rallied in Baldwin Park to win the support of Assemblymember Susan Rubio, which aided in passing SB 679 through the legislature last month. Now, this diverse coalition is coming together to urge Governor Newsom to seal the deal and sign SB 679 into law.
“SB 679 will address the housing crisis through a single, unified approach that maximizes the scale and resources of the County as a whole—the largest county in the nation,” said Mahdi Manji, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Inner City Law Center, the only nonprofit legal center in the Skid Row neighborhood. “Every day, we help people who are homeless or at the precipice of homelessness. We see that despite the best intentions of service providers, housing developers and public agencies, there is only so much one can do without resources at the scale of the need.” ”
Under the current system, 88 cities across the county are left to deal with affordability problems on their own, creating a patchwork of housing affordability solutions and in many cases, none at all. LACAHSA would coordinate a countywide strategy to address homelessness in an innovative way.
“Housing is a human right and we need to put forward the resources to realize that right in practice,” says David Barboza, Executive Director of Abundant Housing Los Angeles. “SB 679 would create an agency that brings Los Angeles County together to plan for affordable housing and renter support programs and makes it easier for voters to have their say on the funding to transform that vision into reality. We stand with our coalition partners in urging Governor Newsom to continue his pro-housing leadership by signing this important bill into law.”
The burden of high housing costs, a lack of new affordable housing, and people falling into homelessness faster than the system can rehouse them continue to exacerbate the housing and homelessness crises in Los Angeles. The latest Homeless Count estimates there are over 69,000 people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County. Equity is central to these challenges as well, with people of color–especially Black Angelenos–being more likely to face stark rent burdens, lower income levels and ultimately homelessness.
“Affordable housing is foundational for equity and a thriving community,” said Derek Steele, Executive Director for Social Justice Learning Institute in Inglewood. “As an organization working to improve the education, health and well being of youth and communities of color, we believe that SB 679 is a part of a long continuum of work focused on creating a care first, family centered, healthy, safe and secure communities.”
The Our Future Los Angeles coalition plans to continue to advocate to the governor’s office until SB 679 is signed into law.
