Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin proposed Thursday that a way to get homeless people off the street quickly is to implement “shared housing,” a program matching homeless individuals as roommates.
Bonin introduced a motion to the City Council on Jan. 25 asking the Los Angeles Housing Services Authority to encourage service providers to use shared housing.
“Shared housing is a fast, nimble and cost-effective solution for many of those who need immediate housing,” Bonin said.
“There are already great shared housing programs helping people in Los Angeles, and the city should make investing in this smart and fast solution a higher priority as we look to make the most of limited housing vacancies.”
Bonin’s motion notes that although city voters in November passed a $1.2 billion bond measure to create housing for the homeless, it likely will take years to enough units built.
Thee motion points to a program by the Self Help And Recovery Exchange (SHARE!) on the Westside in Bonin’s district as a model for shared housing.
SHARE! matches individuals, including homeless persons or people at-risk of homelessness with their own source of income, to housing vacancies, the motion says.
SHARE! advises that about 30 percent of homeless people in the county are eligible for Supplemental Security Income in the area of $900 per month, which could help offset the rental costs in some of the SHARE! units, the motion says.
“SHARE!’s program is a great example of an innovative approach to getting people off the street quickly,” Bonin said.
“This is exactly the sort of thing we should be investing in as the housing that will be produced by Proposition HHH is built.”
–City News Service