Facing winter storms and flooding, the city of Los Angeles is opening public buildings as temporary shelters for the homeless. Mayor Garcetti also has the option of declaring a state of emergency around the 26,000 people without housing.
The El Niño storms predicted for this winter will put many of Los Angeles' teeming homeless population at risk. In response, "City officials on Tuesday approved an expanded campaign to help the homeless this winter by opening public buildings as temporary shelters and allowing people to sleep inside vehicles in designated lots," report Alice Walton and Gale Holland.
Notorious property seizures by city officials are also being scaled back, at least partially. "The City Council also approved what members said were changes to soften a controversial law allowing authorities to seize individuals' property stored on sidewalks and in alleys, though opponents said the new language continues to criminalize homelessness," according to the article.
The scale of the crisis might even warrant an official state of emergency. "Officials said they hope that a state of emergency, which is more often associated with natural disasters such as floods and wildfires, could make the city eligible for additional state and federal funds. But only Mayor Eric Garcetti has the authority to make such a declaration."
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