FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2021
Contact:
Christopher Yee, cyee@lahsa.org; 213-219-1417
LAHSA Celebrates the Opening of the Latest A Bridge Home Shelter
The Lotus becomes the 20th A Bridge Home project to open; the first on Skid Row.
LOS ANGELES – Heidi Marston, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), today joined other local officials to celebrate the opening of The Lotus, the 20th shelter of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s A Bridge Home program.
Located on Skid Row in a former merchandise warehouse, The Lotus will feature 120 service enhanced interim housing beds for both men and women. To comply with COVID-19 protocols and maintain social distancing, only 78 beds will be made available to people experiencing homelessness.
“I’d like to extend my thanks to Mayor Garcetti, Councilmembers De Leon and Ridley-Thomas, Supervisor Mitchell, and Home at Last for their contributions to making this project a reality,” Marston said. “As we’ve seen from the success of A Bridge Home, Project Roomkey, Project Homekey, and other collaborative projects borne out of both our homelessness crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, we can make great strides in helping the thousands of people experiencing homelessness in LA County when we coordinate with clarity and urgency across jurisdictions.”
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services administers The Lotus, and the non-profit provider Home at Last is the lead operator. LAHSA Homeless Engagement Teams will work within a multi-disciplinary outreach team to find and support unsheltered homeless residents on Skid Row to move into The Lotus.
Marston also used the occasion to urge officials to continue to work together to create more interim and permanent housing across Los Angeles County.
“While the Lotus represents a significant step forward, we must continue to press on and create more places for our homeless population to stay, including permanent housing. There is much that must be accomplished in the days ahead, and we can only meet that challenge together as a seamless regional system.”