Kevin Albarran

Homelessness in Los Angeles

Research
Around the beginning of the year in 2019 thousands of volunteers gathered around the city of Los Angeles for three days to locate how many people are homeless which served as a barometer in order to determine how well the government efforts to curb the population are working. This count helped quantify the homeless crisis. About 8,000 volunteers who were involved in the count from Tuesday through Thursday, inspected the regions 2,160 census tracts. Although improvements have been made where homelessness decreased to 5% in Los Angeles, tents, vehicles, and makeshift shelters have continued to increase. Majority of homeless people are living on the streets with no help whatsoever. A homeless man who was living near a lady's building in West Hollywood was approached by Shannon Peace. As she approached him she noticed that he was muttering and suspected that he had a mental illness. From this, she decided to call the police but the man regardless still returns because he believes that is a safe place for him. On the other hand, this has caused Shannon to interact less with homeless people, she states, "I've interrogated my feelings on this to make sure that this is not judgment, to make sure this is not me being disdainful," she says. "It's a fear issue. When it comes to your own feelings of safety, suddenly it influences the way you view the entire issue."(

Facts and Statistics 

• Between July 2017 and December 2018, the Los Angeles "continuum care" moved more than 27,000 people into permanent housing. 
• About 10,900 people are estimated to fall into homelessness in the Los Angeles County about each month. 
• Rising Housing Costs: 

• Homelessness affects everyone but mostly affects Black people, about 33% of them are homeless.
• As well Latinos tend to fall into homelessness and about 36% of them are on the street. 
• About 25% of Caucasians tend to be homeless and live on the street.
• About 1% of Los Angeles homeless populations are of Asian descent and 3% are of another race or multi-ethnic.

Personal Impact

To grow up in Los Angeles and always observing people who live on the street, I have always thought to myself how did they end up in that situation in the first place. As I got older I realized that not everyone is privileged enough to have a job or a house to live in where they can spend time with their family. Yes growing up I never had the new things, toys, or videogames other kids had, which made think I was poor. On the contrary, I had clothes, food, and parents who worked hard to sustain my brother and me. It took longer to notice that others were less fortunate than I was and it showed me that we should be grateful for what we have and don't have. Seeing homeless people made realize that they need more and are affected the most when no one pays attention to them, all they need is a home and sometimes just someone to talk to. Every time my parents would notice a homeless person asking for money, my parents would at least give them a dollar even though it may not have been much but was something they could use. From then on now when I see a homeless person I give them some change or dollar because it makes me feel good to know that I am helping them out and allows them to understand that there are still good people who are willing to help others. So yeah homelessness is a big problem in Los Angeles and can be confronted if everyone unites with each other. 

Community

"Make shower rooms for the homeless who don't have access to homeless shelters to maintain good hygiene."- Antonio Revelez 


Works Cited 

Oreskes, B. (2019, January 25). Scenes from the 2019 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. Retrieved July 05, 2019, from https://www.latimes.com/visuals/la-me-2019-homeless-count-unfurled-2019-htmlstory.html

Scott, A. (2019, January 01). Homelessness Strains Compassion For Some Los Angeles Residents. Retrieved July 05, 2019, from https://www.npr.org/2019/01/01/681208503/homelessness-strains-compassion-for-some-los-angeles-residents

Tinoco, M. (n.d.). LA County Homelessness Is Getting Worse. Here Are The Numbers. Retrieved July 05, 2019, from https://laist.com/2019/06/04/los_angeles_homeless_rate_increase.php

Tinoco, M. (n.d.). Homelessness Is Getting Worse In Southern California. Here's Why. Retrieved July 05, 2019, from https://laist.com/2019/05/10/homelessness_increase_los_angeles_inequality.php