Mayor Bass Brings 70 Angelenos Off the Streets and Into Safe, Stable Housing During Chinatown Encampment Operation

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LOS ANGELES - This week, Mayor Karen Bass helped 70 unhoused Angelenos and 18 pets transition from the streets into safe, stable housing through a successful Inside Safe operation in Chinatown. In coordination with Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, the Inside Safe team connected residents of the encampment near N. Main St. and Alpine St. to lifesaving medical care and supportive services while clearing tents, debris, and a total of 25 RVs, trucks, and cars from the surrounding streets that posed serious safety concerns. Photos and b-roll from the operation can be found here.

"This week's Inside Safe operation took place just blocks from Central Plaza and the heart of Los Angeles' historic Chinatown," said Mayor Karen Bass. "In addition to securing housing for 70 people living on the streets, we removed more than two dozen RVs and unregistered vehicles that were creating serious public safety concerns in the area. I'm proud to have overseen the city's first two-year reduction in homelessness, and I'm equally proud that we are revitalizing our cultural landmarks and public spaces and returning them to the communities they belong to."

"Every operation like this represents another important step toward helping people leave the streets behind and transition into safer, more stable living situations where they can begin rebuilding their lives with dignity and support," said Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. "I am grateful to Mayor Karen Bass for her partnership and leadership on this week's operation. Efforts like this require strong coordination, persistence, urgency, and a shared commitment to helping our communities."

Inside Safe has become a cornerstone of Los Angeles' progress in addressing homelessness, helping drive two consecutive years of overall declines, including a nearly 18% reduction in street homelessness - a first for Los Angeles even as homelessness continues to rise in most major cities nationwide.
A key feature of Inside Safe is that unhoused Angelenos can move from the streets into interim housing with their pets, recognizing that for many unhoused people, their animal companions are a vital source of stability, care, and connection. To date, hundreds of dogs and cats have been placed into safe, stable housing alongside their owners, including Harley (pictured below), an 11-month-old puppy who moved indoors with her owner through this week's operation.

Harley's owner, a young woman who has experienced homelessness for several years, said she would not have accepted interim housing if it meant being separated from her animal companion. "You'd be asking me to move on without my other half," she said. "Harley eats before I eat. She's the love of my life, my best friend, and my protector."

Research strongly supports keeping pets and their unhoused owners together. A study published by Cambridge University Press found that dogs owned by people experiencing homelessness are generally healthy, well cared for, and share strong bonds with their owners, with relatively low rates of serious behavioral issues. Another study, published in Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness and based on data from Los Angeles County's annual homeless count, found that many people experiencing homelessness will decline housing opportunities if it means being separated from their pets.

Beyond moving people off the streets, Mayor Bass is also focused on preventing individuals and families from becoming unhoused in the first place. Here's how her administration is tackling every stage in the fight to end homelessness and build more housing:

• Cutting red tape to speed up construction of affordable housing, with more than 42,000 units currently in the pipeline.

• Signing into law the first update to Los Angeles' Rent Stabilization Ordinance in 40 years.

• Implementing a research-proven eviction and homelessness prevention program through the Mayor's Fund.

• Advancing the Citywide Housing Incentive Program to expand housing opportunities along major corridors, near transit, and in neighborhoods where people already live and work, with nearly 29,000 units proposed.

• Expanding the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance citywide to convert vacant offices and parking lots into housing, with estimates of more than 43,000 potential new homes.

• Promoting innovative housing through LA4LA and increasing opportunities for affordable housing on City-owned land.

For more information on the Inside Safe program, visit https://mayor.lacity.gov/InsideSafe.