Project 50

J.F. sends in a story spotted in the LA Times January 8, 2008. It is reported by staff writer Susannah Rosenblatt ... "A recent survey counted 471 people regularly sleeping in encampments on 5th Street’s skid row in downtown Los Angeles. Fifty of the most "at risk" transients have been identified and will receive special consideration for housing by the county Board of Supervisors. They are scheduled to vote soon for the three-year, $5.6-million pilot program called Project 50, which is designed to provide immediate housing and services for the participants.

"The 50 categorized as most at risk had been homeless for at least six months with at least one chronic ailment, such as HIV or liver disease, or recent emergency room visits or hospitalizations. The members of that group visited emergency rooms 120 times in the previous three months and had lived on the streets an average of 9 1/2 years, according to the survey.

"The process of moving someone from the streets into an apartment could take as little as a day or up to six months, said Beth Sandor, Los Angeles field director for Common Ground, a New York City nonprofit group that is helping coordinate the L.A. effort. Common Ground launched a similar, largely successful effort to house homeless people living in Times Square."

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More on the Internet:

http://www.latimes.com/