Over $18 million awarded to Los Angeles County to create temporary housing for homeless people

Los Angeles County, California – Gov. Newsom said that Los Angeles County has been given more than $18 million in state money to buy a hotel and two motels and turn them into temporary housing for the homeless.

$5.5 million of the money received will be used to buy a 20-unit hotel that will need to be renovated and converted into temporary housing with supporting services for homeless families, and $12.9 million will be used to buy and transform two adjacent motels in Lancaster into temporary housing, offering 39 units as well as social services for people who are homeless.

The funding is part of Project Homekey, a state program that aims to provide permanent accommodation in apartment complexes and motels for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. So far, the state has approved 55 projects, resulting in 3,195 new housing units for the state’s homeless population.

According to the governor’s office, additional Project Homekey grants will be announced in the coming weeks. To ensure that all applications are processed, applications are accepted on a rolling basis until all funds have been spent.

The state invested $2.75 billion in the program last year, with the goal of establishing 14,000 long-term housing units. The state provided an initial investment of $846 million to kickstart the program’s operations.