Rental Assistance May Solve L.A.’s Homelessness Problem

Rental assistance programs are one option for solving—or at least alleviating—the homelessness problem in Los Angeles. Multifamily investor Gelt and a rental fintech platform Domuso has launched a non-profit The Gelt Foundation to provide rental assistance to qualified tenants during a financial emergency. Tina M. Oswald will serve as executive director of the Gelt Foundation. To find out more about the homelessness problem and how this new foundation aims to help, we sat down with Oswald for an exclusive interview.

GlobeSt.com: How is the homeless problem in Los Angeles impacting the multifamily market?

Tina M. Oswald: With an estimated 43,000 people living on the streets or in cars on any given night in LA, homelessness here takes a huge toll and affects everyone in many ways – financially, medical service-wise, environmentally and it causes conflict in neighborhoods. There are numerous circumstances for why people become homeless and one of those is an unforeseen financial crisis resulting in an apartment eviction and for many, homelessness. That is where we come in – to help prevent that type of eviction situation.