Mayor Bass: East Hollywood op houses more than 20 Angelenos

An Inside Safe operation in East Hollywood provided housing for more than 20 homeless Los Angeles residents, officials announced Saturday.

The operation was part of LA Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe initiative and took place on Alexandria and Fountain avenues near a daycare facility. Staff members from the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority, LA County Department of Mental Health and USC Street Medicine provided housing and supportive services to people who were living in the encampment.

“Today’s Inside Safe operation continues this city’s commitment to addressing the homelessness crisis and saving lives,” Bass said in a statement. “I want to thank Councilmember Soto-Martinez for his continued efforts to lock arms as we confront this crisis head on.”

Soto-Martínez represents the East Hollywood area.

“This was our 6th successful Inside Safe operation in our district, showing yet again that when we invest in housing and mental health/addiction treatment, we can bring people off the street and into housing,” the councilman said in a statement.

The mayor’s office pointed out that last year, tent encampments came down in all City Council districts, and thousands more homeless Angelenos obtained housing compared with 2022 as a result of cooperation between elected officials and LAHSA, which is a joint effort between the city and Los Angeles County.

Bass has prioritized efforts to improve services for people experiencing homelessness as the transition to housing, and she has also been vocal making homelessness programs more cost effective.

On Thursday, Bass expanded Executive Directive 3, designating land owned by the city, Metro and the LA Community College District for more quickly built additional housing.

The expansion also addressed RV encampments “by increasing the City’s capacity to tow, store, and dismantle surrendered vehicles,” according to statement from Bass’ office.

Officials said the construction of more than 14,000 affordable housing units is now being sped up because of this streamlining.

More than 46,000 people were without housing in the city of Los Angeles last year, according to LAHSA.