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Los Angeles is reportedly spending $44,000 for each individual tent in a temporary tent village for homeless people in East Hollywood, The Messenger reports.

Jerry Washington exits his tent at an Urban Alchemy Safe Sleep Village.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

San Francisco-based nonprofit Urban Alchemy maintains the encampment. Launched in 2018 with a small grant, the group hires mostly former prisoners because they have the "ability to read people in unpredictable situations."

According to several lawsuits, however, some of those employees have engaged in abusive behavior.

After expanding to Portland and Austin, the group brought in $51 million in 2021.

Along with housing services, Urban Alchemy staffers also reach out to homeless people in need of assistance on the street.Urban Alchemy/Facebook

The nonprofit says it's offering a practical solution to provide affordable housing for the state's 172,000 homeless people, while also claiming to offer safety and autonomy.

The East Hollywood tent city contains higher quality tents 'than anything someone could buy from a typical camping store,' and include wooden platforms, full beds and storage lockers.

Armando Darnas inside a tent he sleeps in at an Urban Alchemy Safe Sleep Village. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

According to the report, just 2% of the homeless in the East Hollywood encampment have transitioned to permanent housing, which Urban Alchemy blames on a lack of affordable housing in the city.