Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass moderated a homeless forum and raised awareness for national efforts to count the unhoused population as part of her visit to Washington, D.C. for the three-day U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
Later in the summit, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson was set to moderate a discussion Thursday titled, “Bridging the Digital Divide in Our Cities With BEAD,” referring to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, which provides federal funding to expand high-speed internet access. Later Thursday, Richardson is set to speak during a session on affordable housing and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Community Development Block Grant.
Bass also announced Wednesday that a coalition of mayors will visit Capitol Hill and the White House from April 30 to May 2. The trip will focus on advocating on behalf of cities, and seeking legislative changes that are intended to address challenges communities face around homelessness, housing and other issues.
“We’re going to have a task force convening … so that we can go up to the hill and meet with the administration because we need to push for some very specific changes,” Bass said during the conference. “Some changes can be done administratively. Some changes need to be legislative.”
One issue, she noted, that needs to be examined is how veterans receive assistance. Many veterans often have to choose between veteran benefits and housing, according to Bass.
Bass was appointed as chair of the conference’s Task Force on Homelessness last year by conference President Hillary Schieve, the mayor of Reno, Nevada. Bass convened the task force in the afternoon to discuss a path forward on national policy to address the housing and homelessness crisis.
The group consists of mayors and national leaders, as well as experts on the issue, including Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Va Lecia Adams Kellum, the CEO of the L.A. Homeless Services, and Anthony…
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