Homelessness in Los Angeles
Did you know that North Hollywood has the second largest homeless population outside of Downtown Los Angeles? The homeless population in Los Angeles (and its surrounding areas) has been increasing from 2010 to 2018. For example, take North Hollywood, its homeless population increased from 791 in 2017 to 2,135 in 2018. That is a dramatic increase in just one year, roughly 1,344 individuals additional people living on the streets. Although, this seems like unfortunate news, there have been signs of decrease in the homeless population as well.
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| Graph showing an increase in Homelessness of six Los Angeles communities. |
As much as a 4 percent
decrease was experienced in 2018 and a 20 percent decrease in homeless veterans
and homeless with a chronic illness. Proposition HHH influenced this result due
to increase in funding permanent supportive housing. In addition, an approved
tax increase went towards addressing homelessness for the next 10 years. These
two measures saw an almost immediate effect but one that cannot be solved overnight.
Moreover, the statistics for the
average homeless individual can be a bit depressing. For starters, a homeless
individual has a life expectancy of 48 years old! 27 percent suffer from a
mental disability. More than 9,000 were newly homeless in 2017. At least 6 percent were younger than 18 years
old. These are some startling statistics, but there are ways for each of us to
help this situation.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Volunteering is a common
solution to help the impoverished. Shelters on Skid Row, such as the Downtown Women’s
Center or the LA Mission, are great facilities to be volunteering for and donating
your time to a great cause. If volunteering isn’t an option for you, you can
also donate in-kind goods such as food or clothing to a homeless shelter. But,
one of the simplest ways to help is to simply talk to a homeless person. Being and
feeling ignored is not great for your mental health. We are social creatures
and as such, simply greeting a homeless person may make them feel like they
exist and continue to push on.
WHY I CHOSE THIS TOPIC
I tend to turn a blind eye because I am stuck in my own 9-5 mindset of “I need to get to work or school” and don’t have the time to care. It’s sad but I believe most people think this way. I chose this issue because I see it so often and feel the need to try and understand the homeless individual. Each person has his or her own story of how they got there. Perhaps, getting to know those people will lead to a better understanding and thus, seeking ways to improving our communities for the better.
INTERVIEWS
Raquel Pena says:
Evan Brisbane says:
"How does homelessness in LA impact me? Wow! This is a very touching and emotional question for me, due to the fact both my wife & myself were homeless on the streets of LA, for over 2 yrs. What troubles me about homelessness in LA is that it has only gotten worse. One would think that all of the money being generated to eradicate this pandemic called homelessness would ease the problem. But the ranks of homelessness have disproportionately swelled. What really has an adverse effect on my psyche is the stereotype & stigma associated with homelessness.
Those who aren’t homeless have a tendency to think that all homeless people are lazy, drug addicts, alcoholics or mentally ill. Which is a myth! I was neither of the above. I literally worked out of my tent. Going & coming from work everyday. But I had to deal with the mythical generalizations & blanket indictments, just because I was once homeless.
Lastly, what still impacts me to this day is the growing ranks of children living on Skid Row, in homeless shelters. Many arrive on Skid Row with their mother’s. Who were in abusive relationships. Many of these moms weren’t on drugs/alcohol. Some were. Some weren’t. But not all. We call the children of Skid Row the dark side of the moon. Because they’re often overlooked, like the dark side of the moon. Very few stop to think about the kids. Now are they on drugs, alcohol or mentally insane? Just food for thought."
SOURCES
1. https://www.kcet.org/shows/city-rising/a-2018-snapshot-of-homelessness-in-los-angeles-county
2. https://la.curbed.com/2018/1/22/16911052/homeless-count-volunteer-donate-housing
WHY I CHOSE THIS TOPIC
Most of my time is
spent at work or at school in the Los Angeles area. I work in the Arts District
of Downtown LA and always see homeless people on my commute there. It’s never a
positive feeling when you know someone is begging for a meal or living on
filthy streets. This is the reality for thousands of individuals, they deserve necessities
like food, water and a place to sleep comfortably.
I tend to turn a blind eye because I am stuck in my own 9-5 mindset of “I need to get to work or school” and don’t have the time to care. It’s sad but I believe most people think this way. I chose this issue because I see it so often and feel the need to try and understand the homeless individual. Each person has his or her own story of how they got there. Perhaps, getting to know those people will lead to a better understanding and thus, seeking ways to improving our communities for the better.
INTERVIEWS
Raquel Pena says:
“My aunt was homeless
for 6 months or longer. She was evicted from her home, lived with her adult son
and four children. They ended up staying at Motels for 3 months. It was actually
more expensive to live in a motel and because she was staying at a motel, she
didn’t have a place to park her vehicle and it was eventually towed. That was
the cost of being homeless.”
Evan Brisbane says:
"How does homelessness in LA impact me? Wow! This is a very touching and emotional question for me, due to the fact both my wife & myself were homeless on the streets of LA, for over 2 yrs. What troubles me about homelessness in LA is that it has only gotten worse. One would think that all of the money being generated to eradicate this pandemic called homelessness would ease the problem. But the ranks of homelessness have disproportionately swelled. What really has an adverse effect on my psyche is the stereotype & stigma associated with homelessness.
Those who aren’t homeless have a tendency to think that all homeless people are lazy, drug addicts, alcoholics or mentally ill. Which is a myth! I was neither of the above. I literally worked out of my tent. Going & coming from work everyday. But I had to deal with the mythical generalizations & blanket indictments, just because I was once homeless.
Lastly, what still impacts me to this day is the growing ranks of children living on Skid Row, in homeless shelters. Many arrive on Skid Row with their mother’s. Who were in abusive relationships. Many of these moms weren’t on drugs/alcohol. Some were. Some weren’t. But not all. We call the children of Skid Row the dark side of the moon. Because they’re often overlooked, like the dark side of the moon. Very few stop to think about the kids. Now are they on drugs, alcohol or mentally insane? Just food for thought."
SOURCES
1. https://www.kcet.org/shows/city-rising/a-2018-snapshot-of-homelessness-in-los-angeles-county
2. https://la.curbed.com/2018/1/22/16911052/homeless-count-volunteer-donate-housing
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