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Report: Homeless deaths decline in LA County for 1st time in years By City News Service
A Skid Row encampment in downtown LA. | Photo courtesy of Russ Allison Loar/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
highlights the impact of the city's efforts to move people indoors. "We have much more to do to save lives and to address encampments and street homelessness in our city, but this report underscores the importance of our strategy to bring people inside," Bass said. "There is no doubt that Inside Safe, by bringing thousands of people inside and reducing street homelessness by 17.5 percent, has saved lives and helped drive this decline." Despite the decrease, an average of about six people experiencing homelessness died each day in LA County in 2024. County health officials said unhoused residents still face mortality rates more than four times higher than the general population. "Six lives lost every day is not just a statistic — it's a heartbreak," county Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said. "While I'm encouraged to see a reduction in deaths for the first time in years, we cannot accept a reality where people
are dying on our streets." Drug overdose remained the leading cause of death among people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County, accounting for about 40% of all deaths in that population. In 2024, 884 unhoused residents died of drug overdoses, down from 1,140 deaths in 2023, according to the report. Unhoused residents were 46 times more likely to die of a drug overdose than the general population. The report noted the overdose death rate remains about twice as high as it was in 2019. Drug and alcohol overdose remained the leading cause of death among people experiencing homelessness in 2024, accounting for 40% of deaths, down from 45% in 2023. The report said overdose deaths declined across most groups, including a 29% decrease among Black people experiencing homelessness, 27% among White people and 11% among Latinx people. Rates fell similarly among
men and women and across most age groups, with the largest decline among those ages 18-24. Coronary heart disease remained the second leading cause of death among people experiencing homelessness in LA County in 2024, accounting for 14% of deaths, though the mortality rate declined by about 12%, according to the report. Traffic-related injuries were the third leading cause, making up 11% of deaths and rising sharply after two years of stability — with most fatalities involving pedestrians and cyclists. Homicides, the fourth leading cause of death, declined for the second consecutive year, while suicides — the fifth leading cause — increased by 21% in 2024 after several years of relatively stable rates, the report said. Mortality rates from these causes remained significantly higher among people experiencing homelessness than in the general Los Angeles County population, according to the report.
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Nithya Raman formally launches campaign for LA mayor By City News Service
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ewer people experiencing homelessness died in Los Angeles County in 2024 than in the previous year, marking the first decline since the county began tracking the data more than a decade ago, according to a report released Tuesday by the Department of Public Health. About 2,208 unhoused residents died in the county in 2024, roughly 300 fewer than the 2,500 reported the previous year, the report found. The mortality rate among unhoused residents — measured as deaths per 100,000 people — also declined by about 10%. Health officials attributed part of the decline to drug overdose prevention efforts, including expanded distribution of naloxone, a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The overdose death rate among unhoused residents dropped by 21% compared with the previous year. "It is heartening to see that the efforts and strong collaboration of our multiagency LA County Homeless Mortality Prevention Workgroup and homeless services providers across the County (are) leading to fewer tragic deaths," Barbara Ferrer, director of the county Department of Public Health, said in a statement. "However, we need to continue to work hard, especially during these challenging times, because we still see too many people dying on our streets." Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the report
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os Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman's mayoral campaign is formally underway Monday against incumbent and former political ally Karen Bass. Raman made the announcement Sunday during an event at the Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Recreation Center, where supporters gathered for a campaign kickoff before volunteers headed into nearby neighborhoods for door-todoor outreach. "I've spent the last five years in City Hall, and I've tried so hard. My team and I have tried so hard to intervene aggressively on the most urgent issues that this city is facing, our housing and homelessness crisis, building a better safety response, getting our basic services to work for people," Raman said at the event. "But over and over again, in the building, in City Hall, I found myself running into a wall of reluctance, a reluctance to move forward with the transformative policy change that this city needs right now." Raman said that reluctance, in her view, stems from political caution and a fear of angering voters, which she believes is preventing the city from making needed changes. She said Los Angeles has the ability to tackle its biggest challenges. "I see possibility everywhere and in everyone in this city. I know we can build the housing that we need to make this city affordable, to bring our neighborhoods back to life," Raman said. "We can build clear, accountable See Nithya Raman Page 20
systems for homelessness and public safety, and we can show up for people when they need help in exactly the way that we need, and we can help them." Raman said LA should reprioritize its budget to repair basic services and defend local communities from federal policies she opposes, adding that the effort will require honesty and hard work. The councilwoman filed paperwork last month to run for mayor ahead of the June 2 primary election. Her decision to run came amid a shifting field of potential challengers in the days leading up to the filing deadline. Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath ended weeks of speculation about a potential run, announcing last month that she would instead focus on her campaign for a second term on the Board of Supervisors. Two other prominent figures decided against entering the race. Former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner withdrew from consideration after the sudden death of his 22-year-old daughter, Emily, in January. Beutner said the loss required him to focus on his family rather than the demands of a mayoral campaign. Billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who lost to Bass in the 2022 mayoral election, also ruled out another run last month after considering the possibility earlier in the year. Last month, Raman described her relationship