Homelessness within LA County

Homelessness within LA County

Joshua Barahona

ART 3170-02

 

What is Homelessness?

Homelessness has been a major social issue in almost every state globally. While defining homelessness, Amore et al. mention that it is an issue that is persisting and fundamental within our communities (n.p). Therefore, homelessness is when an individual or individuals in the community do not have permanent shelter. This can be categorized into three categories of primary homelessness: people living in the streets, secondary homelessness, people with temporal homes in friends or emergency accommodation, and tertiary homelessness, living in private boarding houses (Hanson-Easey et al., n.p). There are different issues, including poverty, drug abuse, and unemployment, that contribute to homeless in almost every society globally.

 

Research and Statistical Evidence

According to Wolf in the history of homelessness in Los Angeles, the homelessness crisis began during WW II when the housing expansion could not match the drastic growth of the city's population (n.p). It is confirmed that around 52,765 people live in Los Angeles streets, which is an increase of 12.7% in 2019. The Homeless Service Authority has tried to combat homelessness since, in 2019, almost 23,000 people were replaced in permanent homes. For instance, Skid Row in Los Angeles recorded an 11% increase in the number of homeless people to reach 4757 points in 2019. The implication is that about 13% of the homeless population can be found with the 50 blocks that make up Skid Row. The authority also recorded a decrease in the number of sheltered people in Skid Row to have decreased to 1974 from 2149, with a 23% spike in the number of unsheltered individuals (LAHSA, n.p). The COVID 19 pandemic undoubtedly exacerbated the homelessness in Los Angeles, with the LAHSA recording a 13% jump. This was occasioned by the impact of the economic devastation on millions of Californians and all over the world. 

​There are so many complex causes of homelessness in Los Angeles. Primarily, people become homeless when they cannot match the living standards of the county they live. Notably, this results from inadequate income and wages to cover housing or mortgage expense and other basic needs of food, health care, and transport. Poverty is another issue that contributes to homelessness since poor people cannot cater for their expenses, even for the basic needs of children. Besides, drug abuse is an issue that is life-altering when it comes to homelessness with other causes that include:

• Serious illness and accidents

• Lack of affordable houses

• Lack of Support networks

• Natural disasters and fire

• Low wages and salaries

• Eviction and foreclosures

• Racism and discrimination

• Adverse economic policies

 

Why is it Important to Combat Homelessness?

Combating homelessness is an issue that requires attention from families, the community, and the federal government in general. This can help provide stability to families, society, and even social, economic, and cultural conditions. Many issues arise due to homelessness, like tenacity in drug abuse and physical or mental health problems. Hence combating it can help reduce the chances of drug abuse and mental illness. Helping the homeless people settle in their permanent houses is an issue that is beneficial to them and the general community and the health care systems in the county. 

​Homeless people are believed to be high consumers of the public resources and a burden to the public expenses without any income generation to the community. Therefore, combating this issue in the community will encourage public participation in economic growth since there will be no public resource consumption at higher rates than before. Focusing on combating homelessness in our communities can help promote societal progress in terms of development since public resources will be applied in areas that require necessary development for the country's progress economically and in developments.

 

 

How to Combat Homelessness

• Housing: It is one of the crucial aspects of combating homelessness since it provides a foundation within which an individual or family can settle and settle to achieve personal goals.

• Establishment of Multi-Sector Approaches: Multi-Sector approaches, especially ones that focus on housing stability, housing needs, and other homelessness needs, can help strengthen the ability to prevent homelessness in public systems.

• Building Partnerships: the problem of homelessness cuts across the state, hence, in federal and local jurisdictions, a robust partnership between these sectors can help design approaches to end homelessness.

• Strengthening Crisis Response Systems: We can mitigate traumatic issues for homeless people if there are effective crisis response systems that can reorient and coordinate different programs and services and connect individuals with their families and settle others in permanent houses.

 

How to Offer Support 

• Begin by supporting each other from the community and family level.

• Form community-based programs for rescuing homes people in critical conditions of drug addiction and mental illness.

• Establish rehabilitation centers to rehabilitate homeless people that are addicted to drugs and drug abuse.

• Partner with state, the federal government, and local jurisdiction to establish programs of building cheap and affordable houses

• Create public awareness and educate the general community on the effects of homelessness and how combating it can be beneficial to them.

 

Works Cited

Amore, Kate, Michael Baker, and Philippa Howden-Chapman. "The ETHOS definition and classification of homelessness: an analysis." European Journal of Homelessness 5.2 (2011).

Hanson-Easey, S., et al. "Climate change, housing and homelessness: Report on the homelessness and climate change forum, Red Cross (Victoria)." (2016).

LAHSA. (2019). Homeless count 2019 skid row data summary. Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. https://www.lahsa.org/item.ashx?id=3527- homeless-count-2019-skid-row-data-summary.pdf&dl=true

Wolf, Jessica. “The history of homelessness in Los Angeles points to new approaches” UCLA Newsroom