LOS ANGELES – In any given year, Los Angeles County accounts for approximately 30 percent of the more than 171,000 evictions filed annually in California. With the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency and the subsequent end of eviction moratoria, housing insecurity has risen substantially. Today, L.A. Care Health Plan is proud to announce its continuing efforts to keep people in their homes with an award of $500,000 to Liberty Hill Foundation for support of the Stay Housed L.A. program.
“The funding will prevent evictions through education efforts, service navigation, and legal referral services for up to 23,000 housing insecure tenants in Los Angeles County,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. “Stay Housed LA is an effective eviction prevention and defense program, and we are honored to help them serve vulnerable people across the county, many of whom are L.A. Care members.”
This grant to the Liberty Hill Foundation, a strategic partner and fiscal agent of Stay Housed LA, follows L.A. Care’s previous Housing Stability Initiative grants totaling $1.35 million. Those grants helped nearly 1,100 families avoid eviction through pre-litigation and litigation services. L.A. Care followed those Housing Stability Initiative grants with an initial $500,000 commitment to support Stay Housed LA in 2022 that resulted in help for more than 11,000 people.
This project aligns with L.A. Care’s commitment to support under-resourced communities and to improve health outcomes for racially diverse low-income populations in Los Angeles County, including its members. It is also an example of the health plan’s commitment to health equity, which means everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.