Mayor Bass Continues to Drive Change to Protect Renters and Prevent Homelessness

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$1 Million Grant to Little Tokyo Service Center is Funded from Measure A, the Countywide Ballot Measure Mayor Bass Helped Lead

LOS ANGELES - Mayor Bass today joined fellow members of LACAHSA to announce a $1 million grant to the Little Tokyo Service Center to support housing stability for vulnerable Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) households.

The funding is part of the first round of grants from the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency's (LACAHSA) Renter Protection and Homelessness Prevention (RPHP) Program, designed to help Angelenos at risk of losing their homes. The program is funded by Measure A, the Countywide ballot measure Mayor Bass helped lead as part of her comprehensive approach to protecting renters and preventing homelessness.

Mayor Bass was joined by Rex Richardson, Mayor of Long Beach and Chair of the LACAHSA Board, Ryan Johnson, CEO of LACAHSA, Victor Sanchez, a Bellflower City Councilmember and LACAHSA Second Vice Chair, and representatives from the Little Tokyo Service Center and the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Collaborative, which will administer the grant locally.

"Preventing people from falling into homelessness in the first place is a cornerstone of our strategy to end homelessness across Los Angeles," said Mayor Bass. "After so many years of increases, our work has finally reversed the trend and brought homelessness down in our city. With culturally competent emergency rental assistance and flexible financial support like this, we can help families stay together and in their homes. AANHPI communities can sometimes face additional challenges, such as language barriers, that make accessing support more difficult. This partnership with the Little Tokyo Service Center empowers communities and addresses urgent housing needs."

"Homelessness is a regional challenge that requires a regional solution," said Rex Richardson, Long Beach Mayor and LACAHSA Board Chair. "This $1 million investment through LACAHSA's Renter Protection and Homelessness Prevention Program shows what collaboration can achieve. By partnering with organizations like Little Tokyo Service Center and Long Beach-based United Cambodian Community, we're delivering rental assistance, legal support, and stabilization services that help families stay housed and prevent homelessness before it starts."

"Little Tokyo Service Center is grateful for this one-time investment from LACAHSA to help residents at risk of losing their housing remain in their homes and avoid homelessness," said Peter Gee, Co-Executive Director of Little Tokyo Service Center. "We are proud to be part of a collaboration of 11 community-based organizations rooted in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities across Los Angeles County. Organizations in this collaborative serve as trusted messengers - with the cultural and language capacity to connect community members to resources they might otherwise struggle to access. We also look forward to continuing to partner with LACAHSA and public leaders to address the systemic barriers that leave many residents struggling to achieve housing stability."

The grant funding includes short-term, flexible financial support to households experiencing sudden crises, including job loss, medical emergencies, delayed public benefits, or unexpected essential expenses. The Little Tokyo Service Center will administer the funding in partnership with the AANHPI Collaborative, providing culturally and linguistically competent services to low-income AANHPI renter households. Support will reach seniors, limited English-speaking households, families with young children, people with disabilities, and immigrants facing barriers to housing and public benefits.

Building on a Track Record of Housing and Homelessness Prevention

Mayor Bass has leaned into long-standing challenges facing Los Angeles to make progress that had been lacking for years:

• Reducing Homelessness: After years of rising homelessness in Los Angeles, Mayor Bass drove unprecedented reductions in homelessness, including 17.5% reduction in street homelessness.

• Rent Stabilization Ordinance:Mayor Bass signed into law the first update to LA's Rent Stabilization Ordinance in 40 years to cap rent increases and strengthen protections for renters of more than 600,000 homes.

• More Housing Built: Los Angeles underbuilt housing for decades, a leading driver of housing costs. Mayor Bass' Executive Directive 1 fast tracks affordable housing and is already accelerating tens-of-thousands of units.

• Adaptive Reuse Ordinance:Mayor Bass signed into law an innovative initiative to convert underused commercial buildings into housing citywide - creating homes faster and at lower cost.

• Eviction Prevention Programs: The "We Are LA" program supported by the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles has supported people in 88,000 households who were at risk of losing their home.