LOS ANGELES COUNTY – The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion by Supervisor Kathryn Barger directing county agencies to explore a pilot storage program for homeless individuals, similar to Orange County and San Diego.
“Having a place to store their belongings reduces public health and safety risks by reducing the amount of materials filling sidewalks or public spaces,” Supervisor Barger said. “Having secure storage may also improve an individual’s chance of finding shelter, landing a job, or keeping appointments for treatment or permanent housing.”
The Chief Executive Office will work on a plan for implementation with the Departments of Public Health and Public Works, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and other agencies and report back in 90 days with additional recommendations.
In addition to the programs cited above, the City of Los Angeles runs a Safe Storage Program at El Pueblo that utilizes a similar model. At least two other cities, Paramount and Burbank, are proposing safe storage programs to be supported by their Measure H allocation.