From Project Roomkey to Recovery Housing
By: La Homeless Services Authority
Tags: Homelessness, Project Roomkey, Homeless, Los Angeles

Over the next six months, LAHSA will transition clients from all 37 Project Roomkey sites into housing, at a rate of 400 to 1,000 people per month.

Project Roomkey sites have begun transitioning clients from the emergency shelter program to sustainable housing solutions through the COVID-19 Recovery Plan. The plan features strategies to move the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness, who are in danger of catastrophic health results from COVID-19, into safe and long-term housing.

LA’s homeless rehousing system responded to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis with a quickly organized multi-agency collaboration that brought more than 8,260 vulnerable people inside in just a few months — the equivalent of 20% of LA’s unsheltered population. Through Project Roomkey, the cornerstone of that response, the city, and the county of Los Angeles secured more than 4,000 rooms in 37 hotels, and LAHSA filled them with more than 6,000 people.

“With Project Roomkey, we saw what is possible when our system focuses on a rehousing solution and is provided with the resources and political will to accomplish a goal,” said LAHSA Executive Director Heidi Marston. “But that was a temporary solution. With the COVID-19 Recovery Plan, we have dedicated, concentrated resources to move our most vulnerable homeless neighbors into permanent housing.

“We know that 88% of the people placed through our system don’t return to homelessness, so we must use the full power of this system to prioritize our most vulnerable, and make sure they are safely inside for good.”

Based on current funding levels from the City and County for the COVID-19 Recovery Plan, we have the funds to house at least 4,900 of the 15,000 most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness: those who are 65+ or have underlying conditions making them susceptible to serious illness or death from COVID-19.

Three Project Roomkey sites have completed their transition. Most of those participants moved temporarily to interim housing or other Project Roomkey sites because the hotel leases expired before LAHSA received the funds for the COVID-19 Recovery Plan.

The COVID-19 Recovery Plan will use a Housing Central Command model to move people from Project Roomkey into housing quickly.

The vast majority of the 4,900 will move into newly leased “Recovery Housing.” The Recovery Housing units will consist of preexisting and new units that will be deeply subsidized and come with supportive services. Some people will immediately move into supportive housing units that are opening now or as units turnover each month. Others will be assisted into permanent housing through one-time problem-solving resources without a long-term subsidy.

Once the one-year lease-up period ends, participants with the highest service needs will be transferred to permanent supportive housing on a rolling basis as units become available. Other clients will be transferred to a long-term shallow subsidy program to keep them stably housed. Participants with lower service needs will receive a short-term recovery rehousing rental subsidy and supportive services.

LAHSA and its network of providers are also calling on landlords to participate in the program by contacting PATH Lease Up at 323–644–2200.

Partial funding in place to house 4900

The County has approved $43 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds for the COVID-19 Recovery Plan, and LAHSA expects to receive another $80 million in County Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) and $15 million in Measure H funding once initial CRF funds are close to being expended. The City released $30 million out of $97 million in ESG reserved for the Recovery Plan.

We maintain the goal of housing 15,000 COVID-19 vulnerable people experiencing homelessness through the Recovery Plan though we are funded to house 4,750. We will require additional funding from our government partners to meet that goal.