We urge Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the wealthiest person in Los Angeles and the owner of the vacant St. Vincent Hospital site, to work with the City of Los Angeles, and/or Los Angeles County, on an agreement to reopen the hospital for use as an acute care facility for people experiencing homelessness.

There are too many lives at stake for this facility to remain vacant.

From 2017 - 2019, people experiencing homelessness were 36 times more likely to die of a drug overdose than the average Los Angeles County resident, exacerbated by the proliferation of synthetic opioids.

That a former hospital site, a stone’s throw from Skid Row, sits empty while people are living and dying in squalor on City streets is unacceptable.

The City has attempted to work with Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong in the past, but efforts have been unsuccessful. With the State experiencing an unprecedented $97 billion surplus, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide care and housing to people most in need, while addressing the homelessness crisis.

Now is the time to act.