Project Roomkey

Project Roomkey is a federally (FEMA) funded homeless relief initiative in the state of California. The program was launched in April of 2020.

The project was expected to end in late 2020, as it was initially intended to help homeless people socially distance during the peak of the pandemic. However for a time it was continued and was expanded in March 2021 with the Los Angeles City Council approving a measure that would allow the city to compel hotel owners to participate in the program even if they did not want to.

National publications such as Newsweek have noted that the program is reserved for homeless individuals aged 65 or older or who have an underlying medical condition. As of March 22, 2021, LA County had counted 48,038 unsheltered people, 15,000 rooms promised, 2,261 rooms under contract, 2,261 rooms operational and 1,724 rooms occupied. By these numbers, 28% of the operational rooms being paid for remain unoccupied, the county has made 15% of the goal of 15,000 rooms operational, and the program has successfully addressed temporary housing for 3.6% of the county's homeless population. As of March 4, 2021, $59 million had been spent on the project.

On March 1, 1672 rooms were occupied. The cost of the program averages out by these numbers to $35,308 per room over 10 months or roughly $117 per room, per day. The actual per day cost would come to more than this average due to actual occupancy being lower than the cumulative totals.

By October 2020, the program that was launched in April of 2020 had only found permanent housing for 5% of those in the temporary housing.

The program is intended to operate only during the pandemic. The state intends to transition residents out of the program at the end of the pandemic.

Phasing out and winding down the program

At its peak the program operated in 37 properties such as hotels and motels in Los Angeles alone. By July 2022, as the pandemic had passed its peak, only five properties in Los Angeles remained active in the program. By May 2023, only two motels were still participating in the program in Sacramento County, with one expected to close permanently on June 30 and the other in October. Residents participating in the program were supposed to be provided with options for more permanent housing, but in both Los Angeles and Sacramento, people reported that only a small percentage of those housed through the program had found longer term accomodations. For example, Project Roomkey provided the participants in one motel, soon to close, with a list of 148 phone numbers of landlords said to offer affordable housing options. Upon contacting the landlords, the Sacramento Bee learned that only three of the 148 landlords actually had housing available, with two of those three imposing significant restrictions on prospective tenants, and the third having a few units available. Many of the landlords had waiting lists far too long to be practical for residents facing urgent eviction from the temporary accommodations provided through Project Roomkey.

References

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Government of California
Welfare in California
Federal Emergency Management Agency