The program connects L.A. Police Department officers with the city’s Sanitation Department, the mayor’s office, the city attorney’s office and Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to identify homeless encampments and help people get into permanent housing. An estimated 47,000 homeless people live in Los Angeles County, two-thirds of whom are within the L.A. city limits. “HOPE serves as a homelessness ‘super team.’”Since the spring, the Valley HOPE team has responded to more than 1,300 reports of homeless encampments. Officers working with the program accompany case workers when they make contact with a homeless man or woman. Todd Chamberlain, homeless coordinator for the LAPD.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 16, 2016 22:30 UTC