Only officials announced an unprecedented agreement yesterday to provide housing for almost seven thousand people who live near freeways in homeless encampments as well as those who are over sixty five are vulnerable to cope at nineteen the agreement was approved by a federal judge and it requires the city and county to house most of those covered by the pact within ten months KCRW's del saxman has more LA taxpayers have spent billions of dollars in recent years to address homelessness but the situation has worsened at last count more than sixty six thousand nine house people reside in LA county an increase of more than twelve percent in a year this deal focuses on the thousands of people living above below or next to freeways where U. S. district judge David Carter said they are breathing unhealthful levels of exhaust it also applies to elderly people living on the streets and those with medical conditions that put them at high risk of becoming seriously ill from cove it ninety in county supervisor mark Ridley Thomas and city council president Mary Martinez say the city will provide six thousand new beds within ten months plus seven hundred more eight months later the county will spend three hundred million dollars over five years to fund services for those who have been house the agreement stems from a sweeping federal lawsuit that was filed by a coalition of homeless advocates in downtown business owners who said the city and county's failure to adequately address the problem had led to a public health crisis