Since shelter-in-place orders were announced in March, the LABC has jumped into action to provide our members with information, resources and access to experts and decision makers on a variety of important issues. Most recently, we hosted a series of virtual discussions in partnership with Wells Fargo on the impact of COVID-19 on our homeless crisis.
The first of these online events featured Sarah Dusseault, LAHSA Chair, and Jacqueline Waggoner, LAHSA Commissioner and Vice President & Southern California Market Leader for Enterprise Community Partners. Discussion highlights included an overview of the emergency orders to house hundreds of L.A.’s homeless residents in hotels and gyms in order to keep them safe from the virus.
LABC established an Urgent Homelessness Task Force, co-chaired by LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley- Thomas and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. They are Governor Newsom’s co-chairs of his Regional Council of Homeless Advisors, and we held a webinar featuring their insights on statewide initiatives to keep the homeless safe during this health crisis and how COVID-19 will impact their work moving forward.
The series continued with California Assembly member Miguel Santiago and Jason Elliott, Senior Counselor to Governor Newsom for Housing and Homelessness. They shared details on how the state is working to protect California’s vulnerable homeless population through funding, streamlining, and lowering the cost of emergency shelters, trailers and supportive housing, including the new program Project RoomKey. LABC is proud to co-sponsor AB 1907, Assemblyman Santiago’s important CEQA reform bill for homeless and affordable housing.
These virtual discussions have been incredibly important for the LABC and our members. We get a chance to hear from the people at the frontlines of this crisis from a policy perspective and ask them questions about the most essential issues facing Los Angeles.
We invite you to tune into our next virtual discussion which will bring together some of the most prominent leaders in business, real estate and government to discuss California’s economic development response to COVID-19
Register for the webinar here: https: //zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HLqUS3hcQpKoy6bDdb9ixQ
