photo courtesy of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, and Councilman David Ryu, center, celebrated the opening of a new bridge housing shelter in Los Feliz with a virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 24. The shelter will provide 100 beds for homeless adults in the surrounding community. The officials were joined by Steve Fiechter, regional director of Metro Los Angeles for People Assisting the Homeless, which is providing services at the shelter.

“Long before the COVID-19 emergency, we were confronting the moral and humanitarian crisis of our time – homelessness,” Garcetti said. “Our work to bring unhoused Angelenos indoors has never been more urgent or important, and the opening of the Los Feliz A Bridge Home site is the latest milestone in our commitment to deliver housing, healing and hope to our most vulnerable neighbors.”

PATH has a plan in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among residents of the shelter. Residents will be provided and required to wear masks and other personal protective equipment, and social distancing will be required in the dining, laundry and hygiene areas. Staff will routinely disinfect areas shared by people in the facility. If any resident shows symptoms of COVID-19 or tests positive, PATH has a hotline linking staff directly to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which has arrangements for individuals to immediately be taken to an isolated facility. Similar plans are in place at all shelters with services provided by PATH. For information, visit davidryu.lacity.org.