Vyvy Pham

The Dark Side of Los Angeles City

"Poverty and homelessness are endless issues in the community, the most serious social issues we need to care more about. This is the other side of a rich Los Angeles city. As everyone knows, Los Angeles is a sumptuous, gorgeous and rich city. We also know it as a paradise and home of superstars and those who have a lot of money. Behind those flashy luxurious images are something totally opposite; poverty and homelessness. The rate of poverty and homelessness are rising every year. This becomes a concern for me. There are thousand unfortunate people are struggling with their life. A small action cannot fix the problem but it helps improve a person's life."

- Vyvy Pham -

Welfare Info revealed many facts about poverty in Los Angeles, California this year 2019.

• The poverty rate in Los Angeles is 20.4%. One out of every 4.9 residents of Los Angeles lives in poverty.

• 790,320 of 3,881,668 Los Angeles residents reported income levels below the poverty line in the last year.
• The Poverty Rate across the state of California is 15.1%, meaning Los Angeles has a significantly higher than average percentage of residents below the poverty line when compared to the rest of California.
• Foreign-born residents of Los Angeles, California have a higher poverty rate than those who were born US citizens.
• Of the 2,409,248 residents of Los Angeles, California who were born citizens of the United States, 472,968 (19.6%) had income levels below the poverty line within the past year.
• Conversely, 317,352 (21.6%) of 1,472,420 residents of Los Angeles, California who were born citizens of a country other than the US reported income levels below the poverty line within the past year.
• Female residents of Los Angeles, California are moderately(16%) more likely to live in poverty than males.
• The Poverty Rate for men who live in Los Angeles, California is 18.8% - 360,560 of 1,917,837 males in Los Angeles live below the poverty line.
• The Poverty Rate for women who live in Los Angeles, California is 21.9% - 429,760 of 1,963,831 females in Los Angeles live below the poverty line.

Breakdown of Los Angeles, California Poverty Rate By Age

Age	Poverty Rate
Children Under 6	29.5%
Children 6 to 11 Years Old	30.2%
Adolescents 12 to 17 Years Old	28.8%
Adults 18 to 59 Years Old	18.4%
Adults 60 to 74 Years Old	15.1%
75 to 84 Years Old	17.7%
Over 85 Years Old	17.3%

In 2018, California had the highest rate of poverty and homelessness. Due to the house rental increasing every month in LA area, a lot of people could not afford and ended up living on the streets. According to Maeve Reston, CNN National Political Reporter, nearly 60,000 homeless people are living tents on the streets this year. 

(Photo and caption from CNN) Los Angeles -- where the bulk of the county's homeless population resides -- saw a 16% rise in homelessness.

In Maeve Reston's article of "Los Angeles' homeless crisis: too many tents, too few beds", she stated 

• The homelessness crisis gripping Los Angeles is one that has been many years in the making with no easy fix. It is a problem driven by an array of complex factors, including rising rents, a staggering shortage of affordable housing units, resistance to new shelters and housing developments in suburban neighborhoods, and, above all, the lack of a cohesive safety net for thousands of people struggling with mental health problems, addiction and, in some cases, recent exits from the criminal justice system that have left them with no other options beyond living on the streets. 
• The new homeless count released Tuesday by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority showed nearly 59,000 people living in the streets across Los Angeles County, a 12% increase over the prior year; and 36,300 homeless people within the city limits of LA, a 16% increase over last year's count. 
• The number of people living without shelter still went up 12% in the county and 16% in the city. Homelessness among youth and children rose 24% over the previous year, according to the 2019 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count Results.
• The rise in homelessness in neighboring counties was equally bracing. Homelessness was up 43% in Orange County over the previous year, 28% in Ventura County and 50% in Kern County.

What do people in our community think about poverty and homelessness issues?

First interviewee 

Yelee Shin, a volunteer at St. Francis Center in LA. 

I met Yelee for the first time at St. Francis Center when we both volunteered here. St. Francis Center is where provides homeless people food, shower and giving free groceries to low-income families in LA. Yelee has been volunteering here for a while to help serve homeless people breakfast, lunch and preparing pantry for low-income families. Therefore, I really wanted to hear what she thought about homelessness and poverty in our community. Yelee is a shy girl, she did not want to show her full face but she agreed to participate in this project by giving me permission to take a side photo of her while she giving out groceries to people. 

" I think homelessness and the issue of poverty is a huge deal in Los Angeles — especially in Skid Row. Every time I pass by Skid Row, I see rows of tents filled with homeless people. In addition, this street is littered with trash and the stench is quite awful. Everything about this street screams “poor living conditions”. Whenever I’m around this area, I always feel a surge of emotions and have no choice but to be reminded by the grim reality of homelessness in the city of Los Angeles. I am affected by the issue of homelessness. My neighborhood isn’t that great and whenever I go outside of my house — even if it’s just a 3-minute walk, I see tents everywhere and people sleeping on the ground. Also, the scent of urine and trash is quite prevalent in my area. I participate in Vyvy's action project, calling for change by posting my image publicly. I believe that we should definitely do something in order to alleviate the issue of homelessness. I think that one of the reasons why homelessness is so prevalent in our city is because many of these people have untreated mental health and substance abuse issues. We need to increase mental health support. If quality treatment was available to everyone, there would be a decrease in homelessness. Additionally, it would be helpful if the city and county found new approaches in sheltering homeless people." 

- Yelee Shin -

Second interviewee 

Joahanna Luna, a friend of mine in Art 3110-Social Engagement class and a volunteer at St. Francis Center in LA. 

"Poverty and homelessness is a serious issue and everyone should be aware and get involved in helping the community. Things that should be done about this offer more resources to the homeless community and to the families who are facing poverty. City officials need to be more involved and invested in this situation and they need to find the root causes for the people in this situation. Once that is established they would be able to better help these people. I think homelessness in our community is a huge issue because it just keeps on growing. Poverty is also a huge issue in LA because the rent just keeps on getting higher and higher and then some jobs just refuse to give raises to people. The cost of living is just getting really expensive. Homelessness somehow affects me, it makes me think about what can be done to help this community. In some ways, it does make me sad to think there are also homeless kids and families. One way that I like to give back to the homeless in our community is by volunteering at shelters that provide breakfast and lunch to the homeless community. Another way I like to participate is by making holiday bags that include everyday necessities like shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, feminine products, a few snacks, and warm socks, to name a few, to keep them warm during the holidays." 

- Joahanna Luna -

Fourth interviewee
Daisy Santos, a Cal State LA student. She used to live in LA before but now she is doing a fashion internship at a fashion showroom in LA. 

"I believe homelessness and poverty is an issue in our community, especially in Los Angeles. 

I think I am affected by this issue but also everyone should be affected by it as well. By even just knowing about issues like these it should have some sort of effect as we can not ignore it from being a reality in communities. Seeing people who struggle in these issues is not something that can be easily forgotten. I also believe people should help one another, and bring awareness to those who might not know too much about these issues in communities. Even when you think one person can’t make a change that is completely false because it is better than having zero involved. As an individual who has witnessed these issues by just driving around Downtown Los Angeles it gives me a wake-up call on how I can contribute more in the community to make even a small difference. By seeing these issues in person it makes me start thinking how I can set time aside to." 

- Daisy Santos -

Why I chose this issue?

As a part of this community, one out of over 4 million people who are living in Los Angeles community, I need to bring this social issue up to call for help. Poverty/homelessness issue became a big concern and it really mattered to me when I started volunteering at St. Francs Center, where I helped serving breakfast, preparing lunch and giving out groceries to low-income families. I felt related to those who I met here. It is so heartbreaking to see people living under poor conditions, lacking everything, unemployed, and the most miserable image I have ever seen was the homeless elders with disabilities. At an old age, they still struggle with life alone, instead of enjoying a happy life,  having a good time with their children and grandchildren. 

This is me preapring breakfast for homeless people at St. Francis Center

This volunteering experience made me think of my past, especially the time when my family just moved to the US and tried so hard to start living a new life here. We used to face so many obstacles. My dad was unemployed for two years, at that time, my family was in financial difficulties all the time. We always lived with worries; not having enough money to pay for the rent, utility bills, gasoline, ...  many other worries we needed to take care of. Therefore, I am totally affected by this issue even though I did not suffer as much as people out there in LA do.  I realize that I am still very lucky compared to those who are living on the streets in LA. I want to share the difficulties with them by doing something for this community. Whenever I have time, I would register to volunteer, sometimes, I  donate money as much as I can to homeless people I see on the streets. Their smiles, their happiness make my day. There would be no forever solution to fix this social issue but there are so many small actions we can take to make a change. Volunteering/community service is one of the helpful actions or donating things to people who really want them; such as canned food, unwanted clothes, furniture or anything that you think people really need for their daily life.

Cited Works

Reston, Maeve. (June 18, 2019). Los Angeles' homeless crisis: too many tents, too few beds. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/18/politics/los-angeles-homeless-crisis/index.html

Holcombe, Madeline. (June 5, 2019). Homelessness has gotten worse in LA County despite huge investment. Some other cities see a decrease. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/05/us/homelessness-los-angeles-2019/index.html

Poverty in Los Angeles, California. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.welfareinfo.org/poverty-rate/california/los-angeles.