The City of Santa Monica hired a senior advisor on homelessness, Alisa Orduña, last January in response to a 26 percent growth in the city’s homeless population between 2016 and 2017. While that growth has leveled off – the population grew seven percent between 2017 and 2019 – residents are hoping to see the population shrink, not just stabilize.

Council identified reducing homelessness as one of its six priorities for the 2019-2021 budget cycle in January. The annual report Orduña and City staff will present at Tuesday’s City Council meeting includes several significant requests for funding, including replacing Santa Monica’s largest homeless shelter, helping low-income seniors pay rent and extending contracts with local homeless outreach teams.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/homeless-report-puts-a-price-on-solutions/173615