Moved Indoors, But Not Always Stable: Bass Defends Homelessness Strategy

      Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is defending her administration’s approach to homelessness after new scrutiny over the city’s flagship Inside Safe program, which has helped move thousands of people off the streets but has struggled to keep some housed long term.

      In a recent CNN interview, Bass acknowledged that roughly 40% of participants in the program have returned to unsheltered homelessness — a figure critics have pointed to as evidence of deeper problems — but emphasized that the majority remain housed.

      “Sixty percent of the people have remained housed,” Bass said, while also acknowledging that the return rate is “concerning.” She attributed the challenges to longstanding gaps in services and a system she said had been “broken for over three decades.”

      Bass, who is expected to seek reelection, said her administration has prioritized urgency — moving people indoors from encampments rather than waiting for permanent housing to be built — while also attempting to reform a fragmented system.

      “We needed change in this city,” she said. “It is unacceptable to have Angelenos on the street.”

The mayor pointed to reductions in street homelessness and the resolution of more than 120 encampments as signs of progress, noting that Los Angeles has seen declines in unsheltered homelessness even as many cities nationwide have reported increases.

      Still, questions remain about what happens after people are placed indoors — and whether the system is equipped to support long-term stability.

      Bass acknowledged that the city does not yet fully track where people go after leaving interim housing, saying officials are working to better evaluate outcomes and understand why some participants return to the streets.

      For some individuals experiencing homelessness, those gaps are already evident.

      Paul Hogan, who is currently couch-surfing in Orange County, said programs that move people indoors can feel temporary if underlying issues are not addressed.

      “They track you until you get housing,” Hogan said. “After that, you don’t exist.”

Hogan described what he sees as a cycle in which people are placed into housing but struggle to remain due to strict rules, lack of support or financial instability, eventually returning to homelessness and restarting the process.

      “They get kicked out, and then you go through the whole system again,” he said.

      While Hogan’s experience is outside Los Angeles, similar concerns about long-term stability have surfaced across the region as officials grapple with how to move beyond emergency placements and address the root causes of homelessness.

      Bass said expanding services — including mental health care and substance use treatment — will be critical moving forward, emphasizing that housing alone is not always sufficient.

      “You’re not addressing the substance abuse, the mental health, and the other reasons that led to homelessness,” she said.

      As the city prepares to release its next budget proposal in the coming days, funding decisions could shape the next phase of Los Angeles’ homelessness strategy, including whether programs focused on stabilization and support will be expanded or scaled back.

      For now, the debate continues over how success should be measured — by the number of people moved indoors, or by how many are able to stay housed.