Program to house L.A.’s homeless population in hotels to end after falling short of goal

A homeless man moves his belongings from a street behind Los Angeles City Hall as crews prepared to clean the area on July 1, 2019. (Richard Vogel / Associated Press)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Sep 22, 2020 / 04:16 PM PDT

Updated: Sep 22, 2020 / 04:16 PM PDT

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One hotel emptied its rooms in late August. Another did so last week. A third is winding down this week.

It’s the beginning of the end for L.A. County’s Project Roomkey, the $100 million-plus program to repurpose hotels and motels emptied by the coronavirus as safe havens for homeless people.

After peaking at just over 4,300 guests — about 30% of its ambitious goal — the project will shed several hundred beds monthly until it closes down early next year, said Heidi Marston, executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

The program is being squeezed by uncertain funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which pays about 75% of its cost, raising the possibility of a sudden cutoff that would force the county to abruptly shut down hotels, Marston said in an interview.

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