The Investment We Chose Not to Make | LA Housing Cost

The question isn't whether we can afford to invest in housing. It's whether we can afford to keep paying for what happens when we don't.

Public Housing Pays Back

A new study out of Toronto's public housing system modeled five investment scenarios over 25 years. Every dollar invested in public housing returns $2.80 in measurable value. Every dollar withheld costs more than a dollar downstream. The math applies directly to Los Angeles.

Housing Justice, Public Housing, Staying HousedPaul AsplundJune 16, 2026Staying Housed, housing justice, PublicHousing, EndHomelessness, LAHousing, Letters to the Housed, SecondGraceLA, HousingPolicy, LA2028Comment

How Housing Falls Apart

The cascade that ends in eviction usually starts somewhere much quieter — sometimes months earlier, in a moment that didn't feel like a crisis at the time. Understanding it is the key to stopping it.

Housing Justice, Eviction and Displacement, Staying HousedPaul AsplundJune 8, 2026Staying Housed, housing justice, EvictionPrevention, EndHomelessness, LAHousing, Letters to the Housed, SecondGraceLAComment

When the 3-Day Notice Arrives

A friend of mine has been holding her household together for almost five months, since the morning ICE took her husband. When the three-day notice arrived, she texted me late at night. The most important thing I told her was this: a three-day notice is not an eviction. And she did not have to leave.