CRISIS CONTEXT
Los Angeles’s Affordable Housing and Homelessness Crises Require Bold Action
As Angelenos, we value Los Angeles for its richness in landscapes, entertainment, cultures, food, and people. But it’s unique in another way: Los Angeles is one of the most expensive cities in the nation, with the highest rate of unsheltered homelessness and hundreds of thousands of people barely hanging on. Because of decades of government inaction in the face of rising housing costs and stagnating wages, more of our neighbors are rent burdened than any other city in the US.
Despite many efforts that have effectively housed people who are homeless in the City of Los Angeles - with more people than ever ending their homelessness - we are facing a humanitarian crisis as more neighbors keep falling into vulnerable conditions on the streets. Our crisis grows larger every day as more and more people lose their jobs or housing from the effects of the pandemic.
But the housing and homelessness crises can be solved. The solutions are available by creating more affordable housing and helping at-risk renters so they do not lose their homes. We can't settle for the status quo:
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More renters in Los Angeles pay 50% or more of their income on rent (59%) than any other city in the US.
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The top five projected occupations through 2028 all have a median income of less than $31,250.
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Wages have fallen far behind the cost of living in LA and the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated housing instability and makes at-risk renters (such as seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans) more susceptible to falling into homelessness.
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L.A. County is projected to see an 86% increase in chronic homelessness over the next four years due to economic issues caused by the pandemic. (Source: The Economic Roundtable)
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Los Angeles’s city government has failed to create long-term, reliable, robust, and consistent funding to create affordable housing and prevent homelessness; this ballot measure provides an unmatched scale of support to address housing instability.
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Housing and homelessness non-for-profit community organizations and researchers know how to solve this crisis on a large scale: But they need the funding to make it happen.
The number of people experiencing homelessness at any point in time in LA is unacceptably high:
City of Los Angeles: 41,290
County of Los Angeles: 66,436
Insufficient affordable housing supply drives an inflow of vulnerable residents into homelessness and blocks exits from homelessness.
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Homelessness rises when median rents in a region exceed 22% of median income and rises even more sharply at 32%.
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In LA, the median rent is 46.7%—which is nearly half of median income.
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Los Angeles is 499,430 units short of meeting our current need for affordable housing.
KEY DATA FROM THE CALIFORNIA HOUSING PARTNERSHIP:
Historical Affordable Housing Shortfall in Los Angeles County (2014-2019)
Cost Burden* by Renter Income in Los Angeles County (2019)
Renter Household Income Versus Rents in Los Angeles County (2000-2019)*
OUR VISION:
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We end homelessness by creating enough affordable housing for every child, family, and resident of Los Angeles to live safely in their communities. We all benefit when workers are able to find housing closer to their jobs, decreasing commute times and surrounding traffic. Our neighbors will be able to live closer to their families, to their doctors, and to other people and services to take care of themselves and overall increase the health of our communities. Families, who will now be unburdened by the worry about having to move, will be able to engage more with their schools, churches, and other community spaces. Our future generations will be able to continue living in the same neighborhoods their families have been in. We can prevent even more people from entering homelessness.
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The housing crisis is solvable. We can change our systems so that all Angelenos can access housing that meets their needs.