{"id":417451,"date":"2026-07-30T02:28:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T02:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/417451\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T02:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T02:28:08","slug":"rand-research-finds-l-a-homeless-encampment-removals-not-driving-people-to-shelters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/417451\/","title":{"rendered":"RAND research finds L.A. homeless encampment removals not driving people to shelters"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) \u2014 Homelessness in Los Angeles is showing signs of a shifting and increasingly unstable population, even in neighborhoods long associated with the crisis, according to new research and survey results released this year.<\/p>\n

A RAND study examining three Los Angeles areas \u2014 Hollywood, Venice and Skid Row \u2014 found the number of unsheltered people remained flat last year, but the share of people with nowhere to sleep rose sharply. RAND reported those who had no place to sleep \u2014 not a car or a shelter \u2014 increased by 20%. The study also found almost half of respondents said they lost their previous dwelling over the past year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was probably a hope that in removing tents in would push people to shelter, but that doesn\u2019t seem to be the case,\u201d said Ryan Mc-Bain, a senior policy researcher at RAND, in a Zoom interview.<\/p>\n

Mc-Bain said many people who had been living in tents reported those tents were \u201cforcibly taken away from them from law enforcement or other individuals,\u201d leaving them sleeping in the open or trying to find vehicles where they could stay.<\/p>\n

Asked whether the shift is driven by a lack of shelter availability or other barriers, Mc-Bain said, \u201cI think it\u2019s both,\u201d pointing to a broader housing crisis in California<\/a> and Los Angeles County. <\/p>\n

He said that even with legislation intended to build additional housing for homeless individuals, the process can take time because of zoning restrictions, town halls and the need to hire construction crews. He also said some people resist being moved into housing when it is not something they want, which he said reflects \u201ca broader need which is meeting people where they\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city of Los Angeles says it is doing that through Mayor Karen Bass\u2019 Inside Safe initiative, described as a voluntary program in which people in tent encampments are led to hotels until housing is available. Earlier homeless surveys showed nearly a 20% drop throughout the city, with progress seen beyond the communities experiencing the most visible crisis.<\/p>\n

New information released after the interviews added another data point: The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported results from its most recent point-in-time survey, finding that after years of declines, efforts to address homelessness have stalled. The homeless census found homelessness rose by more than 1% countywide and more than 3% in the city of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

The evolving picture in Los Angeles mirrors scenes of \u201crough sleeping\u201d documented in downtown Las Vegas, where outreach workers with the See the Unseen Foundation were followed in February as temperatures dropped into the 30s. One man was seen sleeping on the street away from the courtyard and said he preferred to be alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really focus on the coldness i focus on the day to day,\u201d the man said. \u201cSomewhere in the bible it\u2019s says it\u2019s going to get worse before it\u2019s going to get better and right now, at my worst.\u201d<\/p>\n

He later said he wanted help. \u201cIt starts now man, and i do want help. i feel you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The foundation provided items including a care package, blanket and sleeping bag, along with connections to resources aimed at helping people move toward stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS (KSNV) \u2014 Homelessness in Los Angeles is showing signs of a shifting and increasingly unstable population,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-417451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}