The Genuine Homeless Problem(s)

 

Where did the millions spent on affordable housing go?

 

 

 

Update: Exclusive: LA Poured Over $1 Billion into Homeless Housing—But Thousands of Units Sit Empty

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"These three properties, totaling more than 200 rooms, were funded through California’s multibillion-dollar Project Homekey initiative, which was launched during the pandemic and intended to provide fast, permanent shelter to unhoused individuals and families. Not a single person lives in them.

"These are not isolated cases. Westside Current spent months visiting project sites and poring through documents, only to find a litany of unrealized, high-budget projects. Although the City of Los Angeles has spent about $820 million in Project Homekey funds to acquire approximately 1,237 units, 44 percent remain vacant.

"The conversion rate is even worse among the 32 Project Homekey properties the county paid $550 million to acquire. Of the 2,157 rooms purchased, 1,538—or 71 percent—remain vacant.

"The empty buildings pock the landscape. In Compton, the 41-room Travel Plaza Inn was acquired in 2020 for $6.5 million under Homekey. It was supposed to be rapidly converted into supportive housing. Today, it remains vacant, a victim of delays in permits, funding and inter-agency coordination."





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