On Tuesday, June 23, 2020, Mayor Eric Garcetti joined HACLA CEO Doug Guthrie, along with 9th District City Councilmember Curren Price, LAFD, and CORE to announce that mobile testing units would be deployed over the next two months to all 15 of HACLA’s public housing locations. Kicking off at Pueblo del Rio, this testing is provided free of charge to all HACLA residents and is part of an ongoing effort to test Los Angeles’ most vulnerable populations. “Our mobile testing sites will visit each site two to three times, giving on-site testing access to approximately 25,000 Angelenos who live in public housing,” Garcetti said.

Testing remains the strongest defense against COVID-19. Councilmember Curren Price stated, “Increasing access to coronavirus testing to our most vulnerable neighbors is one of my top priorities… and our goal is to have at least 90% of our residents tested.” Price stressed the importance of testing among the most susceptible, touching on the health disparities within underserved communities.

“At the Housing Authority, we’ve been doing what we can, particularly at these public housing sites, to protect the interests of the residents that live here,” said HACLA President and CEO Doug Guthrie. “One of the amazing things that has actually come out of this experience is all of the groups, nonprofits, donations and philanthropy that we’ve seen; everybody has stepped up and it’s been beautiful to see all of the partnerships and relationships forged despite the challenges we’ve faced.” Guthrie concluded, “I know that testing can be difficult or intimidating. I got tested today and it was in fact very easy to do. It only took about one minute. Hopefully we’ll have more people coming out, taking advantage of this opportunity, protecting their health and making sure the community stays safe.”

Public housing residents who want to get a test can sign up here.

News Coverage: CBS, LA Sentinel