New center in South L.A. is a joint effort from the City L.A. and Metro to help the unhoused

South Los Angeles will be the home of a newly unveiled interim housing program designated to provide shelter to the homeless population of L.A. 

On Thursday, June 13, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and Mayor Karen Bass presented the 24,000-square-foot facility known as the Welcome Navigation Center. 

The innovative interim housing program is designed to prepare people for permanent housing within 30 days by getting them “document ready,” as LAHSA CEO Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum stated.  

The facility has a total of 41 rooms with the capacity to temporarily house 80 people. Once admitted, people will be able to receive wrap-around services such as meals, mental and physical care, employment assistance, document readiness and pet-reliant care, among other things. The facility also contains a community hall, an outdoor patio and a laundry room. 

“LAHSA’s Welcome Navigation Center is a new and bold solution that improves the rehousing process by addressing multiple hurdles simultaneously,” Adams Kellum said. “Compromised health conditions, lack of transportation and inadequate documentation make it impossible for our unsheltered neighbors to start their housing application process. Through this pilot program, LAHSA and its partners provide critical services under one central location to expedite their journey home.”

Bass, who was present at the center’s unveiling and whose main campaign promise was to house 17,000 people during her first year in office, said this was a step closer to tackling the “homeless and humanitarian crisis” in L.A.

​​“Confronting the homelessness crisis means pursuing innovative solutions that will help people more quickly and save lives,” Bass said. “We will continue to work together across the city, county, Metro and beyond to continue treating homelessness as the crisis we know that it is. I look forward to seeing the positive impacts that these services and the facility will have for unhoused Angelenos.”

In 2023, the trend of people experiencing homelessness grew in the city and county of L.A. The number of people experiencing homelessness has increased by 9% in L.A. County and 10% in the city since 2022, according to an annual report from the Los Angeles Housing Services Authority. The report provides a tally of people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County. In 2023, 75,518 people were counted, compared to 69,144 in 2022. 

Bass, who joined the Metro Board of Directors last year, explained that the Welcome Navigation Center is also in close partnership with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), as the growing number of homeless people frequent and find shelter in the system's buses, trains and stations. 

“One of the issues we talked about in the Metro meeting is how do we provide services for people who are essentially using the line and stations as housing, and this is a perfect example,” Bass said. 

Bass said the Metro Homeless Outreach Teams, which are made up of individuals who are deployed on Metro buses, trains and stations, will engage with unhoused riders and connect them to resources such as the Welcome Navigation Center.

The Metro Homeless Outreach Teams will be responsible for giving homeless people a referral to the center, which is open 24/7 but is not open for walk-ins and only accepts those with referrals from Metro or other community organizations. 

A 2023 study by Metro revealed that over 550 homeless riders are kicked off buses and trains at the "end-of-line" every night. 

“Metro sees firsthand the profound impact that LA’s unhoused crisis has on our community with our system having become an unintended shelter for far too many individuals seeking refuge from the streets,” Stephanie Wiggins, Metro CEO, said. “Having these 25 shelter beds available 24/7 at LAHSA’s Welcome Navigation Center will be a tremendous help to ensure the unhoused we encounter on our system have a safe place to stay and get connected to the services they need no matter the time of day, something that is especially important in the middle of the night when many of our trains and buses go out of service.”

The interim housing is located in Los Angeles City Council District 9, which encompasses neighborhoods and notable places such as Vermont Square, Central-Alameda, and Green Meadows; Historic South Central; the University of Southern California; Exposition Park; L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Convention Center. The district has an 80% Latino population and is led by Councilmember Current Price, who was also present at Thursday’s event. 

 According to the center’s staff, LAHSA will conduct outreach to the local community to engage with people experiencing homelessness near the Welcome Navigation Center.

"The Welcome Navigation Center sets a new standard for faster, more efficient procedures and demonstrates unwavering support for vulnerable Angelenos seeking a place to call home,” Price said. “It highlights our commitment to meeting our unhoused neighbors with empathy and urgency, reinforcing that Los Angeles will never leave anyone behind."

The goal of LAHSA is for the Welcome Navigation Center to serve as a 30-day preparation period for people to effectively obtain permanent housing. After 30 days, participants may be given an extension or transferred to alternative interim housing while still receiving services and housing-related support. 

Today, LAHSA said the center has already supported a total of 200 people, with 12 of them obtaining permanent housing and 50 of them transitioning to other interim housing facilities. LAHSA also stated that relocating participants would allow a steady flow of clients through the Welcome Navigation Center and ensure people remained inside.