On Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) urged wealthy constituents to buy housing for homeless people in the city.
Bass made the remarks as she announced the LA4LA Campaign, which is aimed at creating housing for the city’s growing homeless population. According to the Los Angeles Times, over 45,000 homeless people live in the city.
“We will not hide people but what we will do is house people,” Bass said in her remarks. “The crisis on our streets is nothing less than a disaster.”
So far, Bass’ Inside Safe program has moved over 21,000 homeless people into temporary housing, according to her website. In her remarks, Bass announced the new initiative and asked “the most fortunate” to help fund housing for the homeless.
“We are asking the most fortunate Angelenos to participate in this effort, with personal, private sector and philanthropic funds – to help us acquire more properties, lower the cost of capital and speed up housing,” Bass explained. “This is the mission of our new capital campaign, LA4LA.”
She claimed that the success of the program is contingent on the “generosity of the private sector.”
“LA4LA can be a sea change for Los Angeles – an unprecedented partnership to confront this emergency,” Bass continued. “An example of disrupting the status quo to build a new system to save lives.”
Last year, Townhall reported how a third of the United States’ entire homeless population and half of all “unsheltered” homeless people live in California. A Los Angeles Times report published this week claimed that Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom is “Frustrated over the lack of progress on homelessness in California.”
According to the report, the Golden State has spent more than $20 billion in state funds over programs to alleviate homelessness in the past five years.