Housing and Homeslessness

A pilot program with San Mateo County’s public health plan aims to stop the revolving door between the emergency room, nursing home and street.

Harm reduction uses a variety of strategies to address the negative consequences of active drug use; those strategies may range from syringe exchange to housing help, from counseling services to drug treatment.

The city extended the program two months after a L.A. TACO investigation found that vendors failed to service units consistently, despite collecting millions of dollars in payments.

A city program that brought hundreds of hand-washing stations and portable toilets to the doorstep of dozens of encampments during the height of the pandemic comes to an abrupt end.

Billions have been set aside to aid struggling renters. But will the money get to those who need it in time to avert the looming eviction crisis?

While vendors watched their market share increase and collected money from the city and federal government, an L.A. TACO analysis found that hundreds of hand-washing stations and porta-potties went days, weeks and in some cases more than a month without being serviced.

This is the second investigative article by Lexis-Olivier Ray that was produced as a project for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2020 Data Fellowship.

This is the first investigative article that was produced by Lexis-Olivier Ray as a project for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2020 Data Fellowship.

Part Three focuses on a city program designed to bring illegal housing units up to code and give owners a path to legalization — and how it has fallen short of expectations.

Part Two explores the dramatic decline in city housing inspections during the pandemic — and what that has meant for tenants struggling to keep a roof over their head