White House vows more federal aid to reduce homelessness in 5 cities and California

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Five major U.S. cities and the state of California will receive federal help to get unsheltered residents into permanent housing under a new plan launched Thursday as part of the Biden administration's larger goal to reduce homelessness 25% by 2025. The goal is for the federal government to provide “knowledge, resources and elbow grease” to population centers where nearly half the nation's unhoused residents live, said Susan Rice, President Joe Biden's domestic policy advisor. The administration will offer “tailored support” for two years to improve efforts toward housing unsheltered people in the participating communities, including embedding a federal official in each area, officials said. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she hoped the initiative would unstick the current bottleneck plaguing her program Inside Safe, which offers homeless people motel rooms and a path to permanent housing with services.