unhoused

Raman has worked closely with Bass on efforts to move homeless Angelenos indoors, while also seeking fixes to the larger systems that serve L.A.’s unhoused population.

In Congress, she was an advocate for the Unhoused Persons Bill of Rights, which would establish the right to “decent, affordable and accessible housing, livable wages, and universal health care” among other protections.

Founded in 1992 in the wake of the devastating 1986 fire at downtown’s Central Library, which destroyed more than 400,000 books, the foundation seeks to continue the community-driven mission of the library when funding runs short, including supporting adult education, early literacy programs for children, and services for immigrants and the unhoused.

Barth, a freelance journalist, spent time in three different Bay Area encampments of unhoused people, including Oakland’s Wood Street Commons, and, as Gov. Gavin Newsom moves forward on a new task force targeting these areas for removal, he argues that solutions to homelessness should come from the ground up, with the involvement of those most affected.

According to the yearlong study published this month, of the unhoused people who received the cash stipend, 48% exited homelessness, compared with 43% in a control group of homeless individuals who did not receive money.