Los Angeles City and County Comes Up With A New Approach to Homelessness

The number of homeless residents across Los Angeles County has dropped to 53,195, new figures show. There was a 23% increase in 2017. 

A new idea is being tested - providing grants for homeowners to purchase 'granny Annexes' as they are called in the UK which can be surprisingly cheap. Residents can get up to $75,000 to build a "granny flat"—if they open it up to a homeless family.

The pilot, for which the county has earmarked $550,000, will grant two or three of such units in areas where zoning is managed by the county as officials assess whether to scale up in the future. It's part of L.A. county's broader initiative to address homelessness, This consists of  51 strategies—from opening up vacant lots for housing to subsidize housing—have been approved between 2016 and 2017.

This wouldn't be the first county to address homelessness through the growing popularity of backyard homes. In March, Oregon's Multnomah County introduced a similar program, going a step further and offering to build as many as 300 tiny homes—roughly 200 square feet,

“While the reduction in our homeless population in the City and County of Los Angeles is modest at best, we are—at last—headed in the right direction,” said LA City Councilmember Jose Huizar, whose district encompasses the largest concentration of homeless residents in the county. 2017 saw a 23% increase in homelessness making LA the homeless capital of the world.

ABC Comment: This is a very novel idea, have your say below: