With yet another atmospheric river about to sweep through Southern California this weekend, officials are urging unhoused people in Los Angeles to seek shelter.
The latest storm is expected to bring dangerous, and even life-threatening, flooding, heavy snow, damaging winds, and wild waves —even more than Tropical Storm Hilary this past August.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the city, and the county, have been preparing to protect our most vulnerable neighbors, but some advocates say it’s too little, too late.
The agency has activated its Augmented Winter Shelter Program through Tuesday.
Ahmad Chapman, LAHSA’s communications director, told LAist the program is offering up to 240 additional vouchers for beds in hotels and motels across the county.
“Anybody who's interested in taking advantage of that program and attaining a hotel or motel bed should call 211, or our Augmented Winter Shelter hotline at 1 800-548-6047,” he said.
When LAist called 211 on Friday afternoon, it took more than an hour to reach an operator. When asked how many vouchers were still available, the operator said there were none left.
Amy Latzer is the chief operating officer of 211 LA. She told LAist the first set of vouchers from the city ran out Thursday, so they added 15 more, and those were exhausted by early Friday.
She said the county’s vouchers also reached their cap Thursday, and the extras they added Friday morning were gone a few hours later.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said Friday evening that LAHSA is increasing housing and voucher availability to accommodate the influx of people coming in from the storm. She said she expects the extra shelters to be open by 5 p.m. Saturday.
However, Latzer warned that their staffing is small, so wait times are high.
“We will get to as many people as we can, as quickly as we can,” she said. “But we are not adequately funded for staffing on this.”
She added that 211 has been significantly underfunded consistently, even for a regular winter season.
In preparation for the anticipated severe weather, the Augmented Winter Shelter Program is now active through February 6 in the City and County of Los Angeles. Hotel/motel vouchers will be utilized as congregate shelters are mobilized and brought online. Click the link in bio! pic.twitter.com/TEr6y76ZMb
— LA Homeless Services Authority (@LAHomeless) January 31, 2024
The agency’s Winter Shelter Program is also available across L.A. County through March 31.
Chapman said the program offers another 388 beds throughout the season.
All shelters will allow up to two bags per person, but nothing more. They also accept pets or emotional support animals and will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, according to the agency’s website.
“We encourage folks experiencing unsheltered homelessness to give us a call and come get one of the vouchers to come inside,” he said.
You can check the winter shelter availability here, or by calling LAHSA's Shelter Hotline directly 213-683-3333.
Outreach teams have also been going into high-risk areas all week, including around creeks, rivers, and lakes, to warn people about the potential dangers of the storm.
According to the Mayor's office, they focused on high flooding areas, including in the L.A. River and the Sepulveda Basin. The National Weather Service has warned that these areas will rise quickly and “turn into very dangerous raging rivers.”
Chapman said teams have been encouraging people to move to higher ground and offering them a place to come inside, whenever possible. Outreach will continue throughout the storm, according to the mayor’s office.
Four Recreation and Park shelters in different parts of the city will open at 5 p.m. Saturday to provide 291 more beds for the unhoused community, the Mayor’s office said in a statement.
Those sites are:
Bass said Friday her office’s Housing and Homelessness Solutions have been ramping up outreach and will continue to assess the need for more beds.
“If you have family members or friends that you know are unhoused, please tell them to go to their nearest shelter,” she said.
The Mayor’s office said it will also be connecting unhoused people with housing and services during their time in the shelter.
For tips on how to prepare for heavy rain, please visit https://t.co/EbVyweTIY2 https://t.co/FE6XGnDcGT
— Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) February 2, 2024
L.A. County’s Office of Emergency Management said in a statement to LAist their Emergency Operations Plan, which was updated last November, doesn’t get into specific considerations for any single population.
“When hazards are present and/or incidents occur, including extreme weather events, partners with the county’s Homeless Initiative and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority are heavily involved in the response coordination to ensure the proper actions are taken to protect and serve unhoused people based on the specific impacts of each hazard/incident,” the statement said.
When LAist asked what procedures and plans were being used to protect unhoused people in advance of the storm, the Office of Emergency Management didn’t immediately respond.
Carol Sobel is a civil rights attorney who works with the unhoused community in Southern California. She told LAist she’s “extremely concerned” there’s only 628 vouchers and beds available through LAHSA.
According to the latest homeless count, there’s 55,155 unsheltered people countywide.
Sobel said cold weather can make unhoused people really sick, or die from hypothermia, especially if they’re already at risk and don’t have proper protection.
“The attention gets paid to it when there's a life-threatening storm,” she said. “Why is it that we can't be prepared? And be prepared in advance?”
Sobel noted she’s concerned about unhoused people living in remote canyons getting caught up in mudslides, and the impacts of flooding for people living on the streets.
Cars completely submerged under a railroad trestle in #LongBeach. Thanks to the #storm. @knxnews pic.twitter.com/tTwfpwgzJl
— Jon Baird (@KNXBaird) February 1, 2024
“The city of Long Beach, for example, was flooded,” she said. “Almost the entire city was flooded. If you're somebody's living on the streets in those areas, where do you go?”
According to the National Weather Service, all areas, including highly populated urban areas, are at risk for life-threatening flooding.
Pete White is the founder and co-executive director of the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN). He told LAist that their teams in Skid Row, South L.A, Venice, and San Pedro haven’t seen any official storm preparation for the unhoused community.
“I would hope that, at a minimum, you would be concerned with life, and sort of pick up the pace in terms of how you're getting people prepared,” White said.
He said he’s 10 times more concerned about this storm than he was for Tropical Storm Hilary.
White added that the people on the streets and in encampments are usually the last to know about these major events, and right now, things are moving slowly.
He said the community is often left to fill in the gaps, and LA CAN has been doing their own outreach. White said they’re also urging people to get inside if they can, but he shared some safety tips for people who aren’t able to seek shelter.
“My first tip for folks on the street is that if they are near a gutter, a sewage drain — get away from that sewage drain,” he said.
If the drain gets blocked by any objects, White recommends people clear them if they can so the water can continue to flow.
If you can find sandbags, he recommends putting those around your tent or shelter to keep them steady.
And if you’re in an area that’s flooded before, White said you need to get out of there and move to higher ground immediately.
“All Angelenos need to help one another,” he said. “If you're housed, and you have an extra tarp or if you have access to sandbags, help your neighbor.”
