By: Olivia Xia

For years, the streets of Los Angeles were full of homeless people.

In late 2022, Mayor Karen Bass began a new program to move homeless off streets. For the first time in years, piles of belongings were removed from sidewalks, and their owners were moved into motel rooms.

And her efforts have been successful. For the first time in 6 years, homeless rates dropped in Los Angeles.

The number of people who were homeless in LA decreased when compared to the year before, according to the most recent point-in-time count, which took place in January. The city takes its counts annually, so the only way to see a change is by the point-in-time counts.

The overall number of people experiencing homelessness decreased by 2.2 percent. The number of unsheltered people in the city, people who are sleeping on the street, in tents or in cars, decreased by 10.4 percent.

In addition to Los Angelos’ Mayor reducing homeless rates, the Supreme Court is also putting effort into this situation.

Hours before the data was released on Friday, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that will make it easier of local governments in the West Coast to ban sleeping in public. While many people are relieved about this new ruling, Ms. Karen Bass thinks otherwise. She believes that arresting homeless people is a “failed response”

“We know for a fact it will not work,” she said of arresting people who are homeless. “It will not get people housed. it will not get people off our streets.”

Progress is being made for the homeless situation in LA.