Outreach workers with Hope The Mission look toward a homeless encampment in Los Angeles, California on June 1, 2026 Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP

For the past few months, Michael Gilpin has slept in a small, prefabricated house he moved into when he got off the streets of Los Angeles as part of a major drive to reduce homelessness.

The single-room unit is a long way from perfect — he says it has the air of a “jail cell” — but it’s a huge improvement on sleeping in his car.

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