Mayor takes pulpit to promote homeless ballot measure

(FOX 11) - Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti stood at the pulpit of All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills on Sunday and asked those in the pews for help with the city's homeless problem.

Speaking in phrases that were almost sermon-like, Garcetti talked of hope.

"Do you still have hope?" He asked. "It's a tough time. Tonight, 21,000 (people) in the city, and in the county, 40,000, will be sleeping on the streets."

He spoke of the mental health challenges, housing issues and what Los Angeles has been doing to reach out and connect the homeless with social services.

"Government can't do it all," Garcetti said.

So, he's asking churches, synagogues and mosques if they "have any land to build for housing... (and) the city will step up with the money."

The measure is for a $1.2 billion general obligation bond to finance the construction of the housing that will also include case managers as well as physical and mental health care.

"The flip side of faith, being hope," is how he frames his appeal for the passage of a November ballot measure to deal with homelessness. He invited church members to "say yes to measure HHH," which is designed to provide 10,000 units of homeless housing in the city of Los Angeles.

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