Senator Kevin Murray (Ret) Discusses Main Takeaways From 2021 LABC Institute Homelessness Survey
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Weingart Center President and CEO, Senator Kevin Murray (Ret) discusses the 2021 LABC Institute Homelessness Survey which was conducted by Hart Research Associates, one of the leading research firms in the United States.
The 2021 LABC Institute survey highlights that Los Angeles County voters believe homelessness has gotten worse over the years. Voters desire a strong leadership presence and favor short-term solutions. This research serves as an update to the LABCI’s groundbreaking 2019 survey on homelessness. According to the survey, 76% of voters support a right to shelter in California because intuitively, they understand that without housing there is no real solution to homelessness. Nearly 4 out of 5 voters say homelessness has gotten worse over the years and they see it as a serious problem in LA County because it impacts the quality of their lives. Additionally, close to 4 out of 10 voters personally feel unsafe in their neighborhoods.
We don’t have the privilege to wait around any longer for long term solutions. The Weingart Center is taking action to build permanent supportive and transitional housing, and to provide services like job training and mental health services.
Video Highlights
Q: What scope of services does Weingart Center provide?
A: “We provide interim housing, shelter housing and transitional housing along with building and operating permanent supportive housing in the county of Los Angeles.”
Q: As the leading provider of homeless services in Los Angeles, what are your biggest takeaways from the 2021 Homelessness Survey?
A: “The biggest takeaway is that the public is clear that they are not giving us any more time. [The public] want solutions that they can see on the streets. So, for some time, we have been reporting numbers of projects approved and number of units available, but the people weren’t seeing the benefits on the street. So now they want to see benefits in their neighborhood. Another [takeaway] from the survey is that they want a variety of different types of solutions, and that they are not supportive of this singular solution that we’ve been operating under “housing first” with just building permanent supportive housing for people. [The public] want a variety of solutions, both short term and long term and I think they were very clear in that concept. To their credit, I think I also have to say they want us to do what we do humanely.”
Q: Looking to the future, what do you see as top priorities for local government on the issue of homelessness?
A: “[Our] priority ought to be identifying multiple types of housing and then actually moving those encampments out. We have had the noteworthy encampment clean ups in Echo Park and Venice and now in MacArthur Park. I think people want to see that kind of opportunity replicated.”
