Universal Housing App NEW Capacity Building Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry System FileShare Funding HMIS Homeless Count Resource Management System Housing Extension LA-HOP Legislative Affairs MyOrg People New Policy Veterans By Name EGMS (LAHSA staff) EGMSAll Apps

ACTIVATION CRITERIA

The Emergency Response is intended to provide life-saving emergency shelter beds to people experiencing homelessness during severe weather events and other emergencies throughout the year. Severe weather events include, but are not limited to, severe cold, rain, heat, flooding, and tropical storms. The goal of the program is to bring people indoors if circumstances pose an imminent danger to unsheltered individuals.

The Los Angeles Emergency Management Department and the Office of Emergency Management monitors forecasted weather conditions, leverages resources during natural disasters, and coordinates with various stakeholders that assess and determine if activation of the Emergency Response Program is necessary to assist unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness to come indoors, such as when the City of Los Angeles Fire Department reports a wildfires and landslides or when the National Weather Service forecasts weather with the following conditions:

  • Excessive Heat: The National Weather Service issues an Excessive Heat Warning for the City of Los Angeles area. These warnings are generally issued when the maximum heat index temperature is expected to be 105° or higher for at least two (2) days, and nighttime air temperatures will not drop below 75.
  • Excessive Cold: The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast calls for three (3) days of low daytime temperatures accompanied by night wind chill temperatures of 32 degrees or less.
  • Excessive Rain: The National Weather Service forecast calls for one (1) inch of rain in 24 hours; the forecast calls for three (3) consecutive days of ¼-inch rainfall or more accompanied by temperatures at or below 50 degrees; or the National Weather Service issues a flood watch or warning.
  • Wildfires or other Fires: The City of Los Angeles Fire Department and/or City Emergency Management Department reports wildfire/fire activity or wildfire/fire threat alerts, for which the location or severity of the fire poses an imminent danger to people who remain unsheltered.
  • Landslides or Mudslides: The City Emergency Management Department report landslide or mudslide activity or threat alerts, for which the location or severity of the landslide or mudslide poses an imminent danger to people who remain unsheltered.
  • Conditions not previously identified by the plan but for which it would be prudent to activate as directed by the City’s Los Angeles Emergency Management Department and the County’s Office of Emergency Management Department.


* The Emergency Response Program is comprised of several interventions including the Inclement Weather Program and Augmented Winter Shelter Program.