This Is Why LA Can't Have Nice Things

Homelessness in Los Angeles went up this year after two years of declines.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing a setback in her efforts to reduce homelessness as the data makes it clear that the progress the city has been making on homelessness has not just stalled, but reversed.

Just in the City of L.A., the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's (LAHSA) latest count shows the number of homeless ticked up 3.4% from the previous count...

That puts the city's homeless population now at just over 45,000. But if you look at those classified as "unsheltered," meaning they live on the street or in a car, that population in the city went up almost 8%, which is statistically significant.

What's striking, however, is that when looking at the data county-wide, we're not seeing the same increase. The homeless population rose just about 1% in L.A. County and the county's number of unsheltered people actually went down.

The "unsheltered" population is the group that you see building tent camps in parks or under freeways. An 8 percent jump in one year is quite large.

Why can't LA do better? About a week ago an article in the NY Times made the case that Denver is doing better, using an approach to homelessness that actually works. It involves combining social services with police intervention.

Homelessness, all appearances to the contrary, is a long-solved problem. We know both the causes and the cure. You wouldn’t think that’s the case from visiting many U.S. cities. Stymied by political and financial hurdles, progressive bastions — including Los Angeles, Seattle and Burlington, Vt. — appear to have given up. They have surrendered public spaces to the homeless and their encampments to the point that it’s difficult to describe these spaces as truly for the public anymore.

Denver shows what happens when a city puts into place proven policies with determination and focus...

Since 2023, Denver’s unsheltered population is down 64 percent. “What they’re doing is working,” said Samantha Batko, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Urban Institute, which is independently evaluating the city’s progress.

So why haven't more cities adopted what Denver is doing? Well, as the article makes clear, there's a problem. Progressives don't like the police and police are key to making this work.

Police officers break up homeless encampments, warning that repeated violations could lead to arrest. With the help of social workers, the city connects those people to services and shelters...

Politically, none of this is easy. On the policing side, progressives remain skeptical of using law enforcement to deal with what they see as largely an economic issue...

Progressives tend to view the enforcement side of anti-homelessness strategies with disdain because it can involve criminalizing an economic or a mental health issue. At the same time, other residents don’t want encampments clogging up parks and sidewalks. Progressive cities have tried to get around the dilemma by flooding the streets with social services, hoping that offers of help would get people on the streets to pack up. The reality, as cities have painfully learned, is that people often need a stronger push to abandon their tents.

This is something I've described many times in the past decade. Many of the most disturbed, drug-addicted people on the street don't want to leave. If they go into a shelter there are rules and risks dealing with other deranged homeless people. On the street, they can get drugs daily and this is what many of them want. If there's no looming threat of arrest, many would rather just stay where they are.

Karen Bass is currently running for reelection and she gave an interview to KFI's John Kobylt in which she was specifically asked why Los Angeles isn't emulating successful strategies that appear to be working well in Denver.

One of the main topics John covered with @MayorOfLA Karen Bass was the homeless issue & he pressed Mayor Bass about why LA isn’t following a city like Denver’s lead when it comes to clearing homeless encampments on the street! @KFIAM640 https://t.co/LISLQLCpwC

— The John Kobylt Show (@JohnKobyltRadio) October 21, 2026

Bass's basic argument is that Denver doesn't have the large homeless population that Los Angeles has. She suggests there's no place to put all of the tens of thousands of people living on LA's streets.

It's true that LA's problem is much worse, but you can't reduce the numbers unless you reduce the appeal. To do that you need to make it clear that the city is not a free-for-all where the law doesn't exist.

Frankly, Bass could learn something from President Trump's approach to the border. If you allow people to game the system and sneak across the border you encourage thousands more people to do the same. If on the other hand you put an end to gaming the system and deport people who try to cross the border immediately, you send a message that it's not worth the expense and effort to try. Part of winning this battle is discouraging people from outside LA from coming here to be homeless.

And admittedly another part of it is money. Bass is correct that it would cost a lot of money to house tens of thousands of people currently living on the streets. But this is an area where what people are tired of seeing is failure and excuses. Cities are already paying billions for homeless services every year but the problems only seem to get worse. Taxpayers would be more willing to fund those services if they worked.

Imagine if LA's homeless population dropped 64 percent in two years. Karen Bass wouldn't need to run for reelection. Another term would be handed to her without a campaign. What people are tired of is all of the spending with none of the results. If all Bass has to offer are excuses then she's never going to get it done.

Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.

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