A partnership between the City and County of Los Angeles, this will be the first permanent site west of the 405 and will serve local homeless Angelenos

CANOGA PARK,CA- Today construction and renovations began for the new permanent Bridge Housing site in the West Valley. In partnership with County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, this property in Canoga Park will be the City’s first permanent Bridge Housing site west of the 405.

“The COVID-19 emergency has amplified our homelessness crisis in ways we will only fully grasp in the years to come but we know our Bridge Housing site will serve as a critical tool in getting people the help they need,” said Councilmember Blumenfield. “Thanks to Supervisor Sheila Kuehl for partnering in this effort to get more permanent services in the West Valley because as we continue to face an unprecedented humanitarian and quality-of-life crisis, we need all the resources we can get.”

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said, “This project is a great example of City – County cooperation and will help reduce the number of our community members who are experiencing homelessness. Bridge Housing is a critical step in moving men and women from the street and their cars into permanent housing. This Bridge Housing will help us build on our successes last year of re-housing tens of thousands of people in permanent and bridge housing as well as helping fulfill a need in the Valley.”

The property, located at 7621 Canoga Avenue, was privately owned, but used to serve as a County mental health facility. Under the plan outlined by Blumenfield and Kuehl, the City allocated a conditional grant of $4.3 million to the County to purchase the property, and now the County is renovating it and providing no less than fifteen years of homeless services. The City’s funding included $1.3 million from the Mayor’s Bridge Housing line item and an additional $3 million from the State’s Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP). This site is poised to open by the end of the year. 

Though this site will be a ‘permanent’ Bridge Housing facility, it will provide homeless people with ‘temporary’ and transitional housing, just like other bridge housing sites opening up around the city. This site will provide housing for no less than 80 people at any given time. 

Photo taken before Stay at Home order was issued