The same old on homelessness
Re “Makeshift RV park faces crackdown,” July 3
From reading articles about homelessness, one understands that housing construction in Los Angeles costs at least $500,000 per unit. So, the Sylmar lot with its 20 units of recreational vehicle sites represents at least $10 million of value to the city of Los Angeles.
That lot provides homes for folks that might otherwise be queued up for those $500,000 units. Is the city helping this place exist? Perhaps with minor subsidies, permit assistance or utility connections?
Afraid not. The owner of the lot is facing a criminal complaint from the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.
This article could have been about our new mayor’s administration stepping to the plate to support a struggling community resource; instead, we are faced with just another example of bureaucratic heavy-handedness.
JOHN ARCOS
Long Beach
With so much focus on building new units for the unhoused, there is one simple solution that never seems to be discussed — having local governments simply pay the rent.
Similar to a federal Section 8 voucher, this program would identify residents behind on their rent payments for two to six months, and once qualified, the local government would directly pay the landlords.
People in this program would need to receive intensive case management in getting mental health counseling, job assistance and other vital living skills until they could start to pay a portion of their rent and over time pay at least 50% of their rent.
This “rent-first” program would keep people in their current place of residence and prevent people from ever pitching a tent on the sidewalk in the first place.