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The Shaky Foundations of LA’s Housing ‘Entitlement’ for the Homeless

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The Shaky Foundations of LA’s Housing ‘Entitlement’ for the Homeless
A man sleeps outside the Homeless Help Desk kiosk in the Skid Row community of Los Angeles, Calif., on April 26, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Christopher F. Rufo
RealClearInvestigations
By Christopher F. Rufo and RealClearInvestigations
4/26/2021Updated: 7/12/2022

In 2016 influential political leaders, activists, and media outlets in Los Angeles said they had a simple solution to homelessness: build more housing. Echoing an argument heard across the country, they claimed that rising rents have thrown people onto the streets and that by directly providing free “permanent supportive housing,” cities can reduce the number of people on the streets and save costs on emergency services.

In response, 77 percent of Los Angeles voters approved a $1.2 billion bond for the construction of 10,000 units for the city’s homeless. That commitment made Los Angeles the most significant testing ground for the “Housing First” approach that has become the dominant policy idea on homelessness for West Coast cities. Even before the passage of the bond, the concept’s creator, Sam Tsemberis, was lavished with praise by the national media. In 2015, the Washington Post wrote that Tsemberis had “all but solved chronic homelessness” and that his research “commands the support of most scholars.”

Christopher Ferguson Rufo is a writer, filmmaker, and researcher. He is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor of City Journal. His website is ChristopherRufo.com.
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