West Coast Mayors Announce Creation of New Alliance to Address Growing Crisis of Homelessness
Mayors from five West Coast cities today announced the creation of an alliance of West Coast mayors united in addressing the growing crisis of homelessness.
The alliance was developed during the first West Coast Mayors Summit, a two-day convening of mayors from Portland, Seattle, Eugene, San Francisco and Los Angeles to discuss pressing issues affecting each of their cities: homelessness, housing, and climate action.
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti stand committed to leveraging their power to address the growing crisis of homelessness and housing affordability in their communities.
“Up and down the West Coast we are facing a crisis of unaffordability in housing,” Mayor Hales said. “Each of our cities has taken unprecedented steps to respond to the urgent issues of homelessness and housing affordability; in Portland, for example, we opened a shelter for women in just over one month. But we need federal support to address root causes and help protect our most vulnerable community members.”
The West Coast Alliance of Mayors will be a bipartisan coalition working to raise awareness of common issues. First on the agenda is elevating the importance of homelessness and housing in their communities and among their federal delegations. It would be committed to data collection and sharing — getting the right data for the West Coast — and sharing of best practices.
