Letters to the Editor: Will additional funds finally see Los Angeles make progress on homelessness?

To the editor: What a troubling and sad state of affairs regarding homelessness in Los Angeles and its vicinities (“New taxes will soon dwarf the billions spent on homelessness in last decade. Who’s watching over it?” April 23). Even after the approval of billions of dollars pursuant to prior city and county propositions, the people in charge aren’t even able to communicate effectively, let alone use the money to create housing.

When I read that Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman said that this most recent funding will allow them to communicate more effectively, I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Over the past 10 years, a great number of administrators and politicians have proven their incompetence by not being able to effectively use the billions that have already been approved.

I can only hope that Mayor Karen Bass can achieve better results than Eric Garcetti did to bring housing to the unhoused. But considering the lack of effectiveness in dealing with the fire crisis, and all the demands that will come as a result of the fires, it seems hopeless to believe that the additional $1.5 billion on the table will actually see application to helping unhoused people to get off the streets.

Loren Mark, Los Angeles

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To the editor: You don’t need buckets of money and new homeless committees. What you need is the following: Dedicated “camping” sites for tent living; city/county parking lots for recreational vehicle living; and city/county parking lots for car living. All of these with full wrap-around services, education and job training. Until officials get their heads around these truths, it doesn’t matter how many buckets of money we give them.

Mindy Taylor-Ross, Venice