Karen Bass will sign a series of decrees to provide non -home people with temporary housing through the rental of apartments and hotel rooms. The elected Democrat estimates that 40,000 people are in this situation in the second largest American city.
mo12345lemonde with AP and AFP
Barely entry into office, the new mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, announced that he wanted to immediately attack the thorny problem of the homeless which affects the most second largest city in the United States.
The elected Democrat declared, Monday, December 12, the state of emergency following the arrows of the number of “homeless” in the streets of the Californian city populated by tens of thousands of people sleeping in tents or in sleeping bags, and arousing the surprise of tourists who come to visit one of the richest urban areas on the planet.
“I will not tolerate a homeless crisis which affects more than 40,000 people and affects each of us,” explained Karen Bass, the first elected woman of the city in November, and who took His functions on Sunday taking oath in the presence of the American vice-president Kamal Harris, former general prosecutor of California and longtime friend.
“Radical change”
“My mission is to lead Los Angeles towards a new direction with a rapid and strategic approach to resolve one of the most difficult challenges that our city faces,” she added, explaining that “the appeal In the state of emergency allows us to speed things up “.
The councilor has promised a “radical change” in the operating mode, and declared that it would sign, in the coming days, a series of decrees attacking the problem, for example by providing temporary housing via rental apartments and hotel rooms. She announced her intention to house more than 17,000 homeless during the first year of her mandate.
mental or addiction health problems
Formerly elected to the House of Representatives and former medical assistant, Karen Bass, 69, was very involved in the associative life of Los Angeles, the city of which she is from. She was elected mayor against the rich real estate promoter Rick Caruso, after a campaign dominated by the question of the homeless, which has become omnipresent in the local public debate.
The most expensive rents in the country, the cost of high living and taxes much higher than the national average further complicate the situation. The subject is all the more sensitive since the population of the homeless is also strongly concerned by mental or addiction health problems.
Los Angeles preparing to host the Olympic Games in 2028, many observers consider that the municipality will be all the more motivated to make the multiple tents disappear, sometimes installed at only a few meters of luxuries or imposing villas.