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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Activists demand more action as Project Roomkey starts placing homeless people in hotels

There are fears that COVID-19 could spread easily in homeless encampments.

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By Madeleine Brand • May 7, 2020 • 1 min read

There are fears that COVID-19 could spread easily in homeless encampments. But people are still living on the streets in close quarters, sometimes squished together in tents under overpasses.

In response, California has started Project Roomkey, an initiative that aims to provide hotel rooms for 15,000 of the most vulnerable unhoused people in LA County during the pandemic.

So far, about 1,700 people have moved into rooms, with about 3,000 people still on a waiting list.

Activists say the plan isn’t going fast enough, and they’re demanding more action.

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    Madeleine Brand

    Host, 'Press Play'

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    Sarah Sweeney

    Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

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    Michell Eloy

    Line Editor, Press Play

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    Amy Ta

    Digital News & Culture Editor

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    Anna Scott

    Former KCRW Housing and Homelessness Reporter

    CultureHomelessnessCoronavirusPoliticsHousing & Development
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