Augmented Winter Shelter’s New Motel Voucher Program: A Lifeline for the Homeless During Winter

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) announced today that its Winter Shelter Program for the 2022-2023 winter season is now open. A total of 143 beds are available at these emergency shelters, which will be open until March 2023, to help people experiencing homelessness escape the cold winter weather. In addition, LAHSA is launching an Augmented Winter Shelter Program (AWSP), which provides motel vouchers to homeless people in parts of the County that are more likely to experience severe weather. 

What is the new program?

Winter Shelter Program provides homeless people with a warm place to sleep, food, supportive services, and housing assistance. 

The City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles provide funding for Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s Winter Shelter Program, and LAHSA selects non-profits to administer emergency shelters around the county.

How does it work?

 During severe or inclement weather, the homeless rehousing system will utilize the new Augmented Winter Shelter Program. The new program will provide 142 motel vouchers per day for people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles and 367 motel vouchers per day for people experiencing homelessness in other parts of the county, throughout Los Angeles County, who may be on the streets and in need of shelter during periods of bad weather.

 The Winter Shelter Program will run through March 31. Each shelter will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the Winter Shelter season. 

 One of the main innovations in the new weather program comes from the implementation of motel vouchers during severe weather events. When the event occurs, the regional cities of the county will each be given an equal number of motel vouchers which are deployed according to the location of the bad weather. With this new innovation, LAHSA will be able to reach the parts of Los Angeles County that experience severe weather but have no traditional winter shelter facility available

What are the benefits?

This year, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has re-envisioned the Augmented Winter Shelter Program to make sure we focus resources where our unsheltered neighbors need them most, said Stephen David Simon, interim executive director at LAHSA. We often saw many of our beds go unused each night, but the new model ensures they are used during times when staying outside is impossible due to weather extremes. This program modification will help the Winter Shelter Program reach its objective: to save lives.

When will The Augmented Winter Shelter Program be activated?

The new AWSP will be activated by LAHSA and its partners at the following times: 

• The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast calls for three (3) days of low daytime temperatures accompanied by night wind chill temperatures of 32 degrees or less. 
• The forecast calls for 1 inch of rain in 24 hours. 
• The forecast calls for three (3) consecutive days of 1-4 inches of rain or more accompanied by temperatures at or below 50 degrees. 
• The National Weather Service (NWS) issues a flood watch or warning. 
• Conditions not previously identified by the plan but for which it would be prudent to do so based upon critical need.

In Conclusion, As a successful rollout

If this program is successful, the same model could be used to aid people experiencing unsheltered homelessness during other times of extreme conditions, including intense heat, earthquakes, flooding, and fires. 

Anyone in need of winter shelter or wants a motel voucher during inclement weather should contact 211 to receive a referral.

See Attachments below:

2022 Winter Shelters  

Provider	Address	Number of Beds	Region	Population Served
Volunteers of America LA	45150 60th St. W. Lancaster; 93536	25	Antelope Valley	Co-Ed
Home at Last	8311 S. Western Ave; Los Angeles, 90047	60	South Los Angeles	Co-Ed
Whittier First Day	12426 Whittier Blvd; Whittier, 90602	8	East Los Angeles	Co-Ed
Abundant Blessings	222 E. 25th St.; Los Angeles, 90011	36	Central Los Angeles	Co-Ed
Abundant Blessings	2155 S. West View St.; Los Angeles, 90016	14	South Los Angeles	Male

Resource for this article comes from lahsa.org/

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