This article was originally published by LA Public Press, and is republished here with permission.
LA Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program launched 18 months ago, but has failed to permanently house most of its participants, according to a scathing report released this week by mutual aid groups around Los Angeles.
Over the course of the program, more than 2,700 people were taken from encampments throughout the city and placed into motels. The report includes survey responses from 56 Inside Safe participants at nine different sites who report being isolated for months in their rooms, lacking access to services and experiencing long delays in getting assistance to begin finding housing.
Paisley Mares, a member of one of the mutual aid groups Aetna Street Solidarity, says the report was put together by groups “from across the city who work directly on the ground with people who have been directly affected by Inside Safe.”
“Our communities have been approached and displaced by Inside Safe,” Mares said. “We’ve been able to see over real time the true effects of what’s been happening.”