Homeless population rises 12 percent since

2013 in Los Angeles

By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff
06.02.15
LOS ANGELES, Calif. A report released Monday paints a disturbing picture of homelessness
in Los Angeles. It reveals that the homeless population has jumped 12 percent in the last two
years. The increase was driven by soaring rents, low wages and high unemployment, the report
said.
The new report was prepared by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which conducts
a tally of the homeless every two years. It looked at homelessness in both the city and county of
Los Angeles.

Homeless Camps Next To Schools

One of the report's more disturbing findings concerns the number of tents, camps and cars
occupied by homeless people. Such improvised shelters have soared 85 percent over the past two
years, to 9,535.
Its everywhere now," said Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin. The camps are "in
residential neighborhoods, theyre outside of schools, he said. Its jarring. ... It shows weve
got a hell of a lot of work ahead.
The increase in homelessness was caused by rising home prices and rents in downtown Los
Angeles and Venice. Cheap hotel rooms, motels and single-room apartments in both of those
areas were once the last refuge of the poor. Now, they are being eliminated.
Rapid change in both neighborhoods has led to increasing pressure and conflict. In just over two
months, there have been two fatal police shootings of unarmed homeless men. The Los Angeles
Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the March 1 death of Charly Keunang and the killing
last week of Brendon K. Glenn.
Mark Ryavec, president of the Venice Stakeholders Association, called on Mayor Eric Garcetti
and other elected officials to address the issue. Fixing this situation is their responsibility, not
just the LAPDs, he said.
Countywide, more than 44,000 homeless people were tallied in January, up from more than
39,000 in 2013, the report said. Well over half nearly 26,000 were in the city of Los
Angeles.

A Failure To Create Affordable Housing

Homelessness activists blamed public officials for the disappointing results.

The city and county have done such a terribly poor job of creating affordable housing, said
Steve Clare, executive director of Venice Community Housing. "Basically they've ignored the
issue."
We need shovels in the ground, said General Jeff Page, an activist for the homeless.
Homeless authority commission members called for more state and local money. Neighborhoods
throughout the county must accept housing for homeless residents, they said.
Much more money and housing will be required to help solve the problem, said Peter Lynn, the
authoritys director.
The rise in homelessness comes just as more attention is being paid to the problem locally.
After years of squabbling and inaction, the city and county have begun pursuing new solutions.
These include rapidly re-housing newly homeless people and creating so-called permanent
supportive housing for the long-term homeless. Supportive housing programs provide the
formerly homeless with mental health and addiction counseling.
However, the campaign has so far proved no match for the regions high cost of housing and lack
of new money for low-income housing. In addition, the countys unemployment rate of 7.5
percent still tops the national rate of 5.6 percent.

A Decline In Homeless Veterans

Los Angeles also has the nations largest concentration of homeless veterans. Housing them has
become a primary goal for the city and county.
Mayor Garcetti has pledged to house every homeless veteran by the end of the year. In January,
the mayor said he was more than halfway to his goal.
The number of homeless veterans has indeed declined. According to the new report,
homelessness among veterans dropped 6 percent countywide over the past two years, to about
4,400.
However, at the same time, homelessness overall has gone up significantly. A lack of affordable
housing means homes are not available for all the homeless. In some cases, the newly homeless
are being pushed aside in favor of veterans and the longtime homeless.
The city now has far less money to spend on affordable housing than it did in 2008. Its
affordable housing fund totaled $108 million in 2008. By 2014, it had plunged to $26 million.
Meanwhile, housing prices and rents are rising rapidly. The increase is making the pool of
affordable housing even smaller.

We just need to redouble our efforts," said Christine Margiotta of the United Way of Greater
Los Angeles, a charity. She added that it is very important to prevent a further decline in
affordable housing.

Critic Says L.A.'s Leaders Let This Happen

Homelessness activist Alice Callaghan criticized city leaders for failing to stop the loss of
housing.
All we get from City Hall is breezy poetry I will house everybody by next year. Thats
absurd. Theres no housing to put people in, Callaghan said. I dont think people understand
how bad it is.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Prewrite by using a graphic organizer for how you would fix this problem. Explain
what should be done to help homeless people. Be specific about what should be done and why, and
how this could be accomplished. (Think: 5 paragraph essay) DUE FRIDAY