LOS ANGELES, CA – It began in September, where a Long Beach Residential home for adults with mental disabilities, was being sold. The residents of that building, some who have been there for decades, have 60 days to move leaving them on the brink of homelessness.
An event that is all too common in California is brought on by a combination of inadequate state funding and California’s real estate market.
The problems are mostly generated in Los Angeles County where care homes are disappearing even as millions of dollars are being spent to house the most vulnerable. A recent survey estimated that 39 facilities had closed on the last 3 years, eliminating around 949 beds out of 6,100.
The homes, which provide 24/7 staffing, serve three meals a day and administer medication, are for adults with mental disabilities who are unable to care for themselves.
Furthermore, earlier this year, an owner of a 70-bed facility in Claremont put her care home up for sale for $4.3 million. In addition, two years before that a couple shut down a 100-bed home and replaced it with apartments because they couldn’t afford to keep it open.
If residents are not fortunate enough to find another care home, there is no reassurance that they will remain housed.
Some taken back to their families or unlicensed homes inadequate to cater to their specific needs. Unsafe from the brink of facing homelessness a high number land of the streets, jail, or in mental hospitals.
Licensed care homes written into state law in the 1970s, serve as an alternative to state mental hospitals. This led to a mission-driven, low-profit business model. Moreover, advocates say there were never enough facilities to serve the population.
Most care home residents are alone in life and some have lost connection to their families. As for parents struggling to provide the best life for their grown sons or daughters who have mental disabilities, a residential home is a salvation.