Los Angeles Supervisors OK $50M To House Mentally Ill

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved $50 million in funding -- from the Mental Health Services Act -- for affordable housing designed to serve mentally ill individuals and their families.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas recommended backing 10 new developments.

"This is an innovative way to finance 10 urgently needed supportive housing projects and put them on the fast track," Ridley-Thomas said. "The plan calls for building 667 affordable housing units, including 230 units for people in dire need of mental health treatment and their families."

Construction is estimated to begin in 2019 on the projects, for which 4 percent tax credits will likely be sought to further finance the work.

The MHSA, on the 2004 ballot as Proposition 63, imposed a 1 percent tax on personal income in excess of $1 million to raise more money for county mental health programs. Roughly $1.9 billion is expected to be collected statewide in fiscal year 2017-18.

--City News Service/Photo via Shutterstock