Ebook A Report on Homelessness in South Los Angeles
When members of the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in 2003 to officially change the name of the 16-square mile district of South Central Los Angeles to South Los Angeles, they hoped to lessen the stigma associated with the area (Sims, 2003). Five years later many of the same social problems high poverty rates, unemployment, low educational attainment, gang violence, drug use, and inadequate access to health care – still impact South LA and its surrounding communities and cities. This report focuses on another major social ill plaguing South Los Angeles, and one that often times does not garner as much attention as the others: homelessness.
The issue of homelessness in Los Angeles County has reached new plateaus of community awareness and political attention in recent years, stemming mostly from increased media exposure and emerging residential and commercial developments on the periphery of the Skid Row area of Downtown. LA’s Skid Row, having perhaps the densest homeless population in the entire country, also has many homeless service providers, shelter beds, and low- or no-cost housing options for the poor.
While the high concentration of the homeless in Skid Row can be explained by the presence of services and beds, the large homeless population in South LA is explained by poor economic and social conditions. This report analyzes some of the key economic and social indicators that help explain why South LA has the highest concentration of homelessness outside of Downtown. And because homeless individuals and families are often forced to leave South LA to seek services in Skid Row, this report also examines the nature and extent of the South LA homeless service and housing infrastructure.
Some researchers have suggested that a major share of the Skid Row homeless population originates in South LA – where services and shelters lack resource adequacy and unemployment rates are high among adult men – and policy discussions rarely focus on this trend (Blasi, 2007; Wolch et al., 2007). Flaming et al. (2004) reiterate the infrastructure shortfalls, stating that homeless services are highly concentrated in the urban center of Los Angeles but sparse in the areas of greatest need – South Los Angeles and the Antelope and San Gabriel valleys.
Recent trends also point toward a need to address homelessness in South LA more adequately. The ‘Safer Cities Initiative’ – introduced in 2006 by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa – assigned 50 additional police officers to Skid Row to reduce crime, fight drug dealing and crack down on quality-of-life offenses, leading to a reduction of homeless individuals in the Skid Row area. While some of the reduction can be explained by arrests and incarceration, another likely cause is a migration out of Skid Row. As a result, other local communities – including South LA, Hollywood, Echo Park, and Santa Monica – must accommodate those homeless individuals. In fact, South LA service providers have reported an increase in demand for food, supplies, and beds (Khalil & DiMassa, 2007).
Trends in the housing market also raise concerns about those most vulnerable to foreclosures and evictions. The recent subprime lending crisis and ensuing rash of foreclosures has the potential to impact the homeless population in South LA and elsewhere. As more and more individuals and families cannot afford increased housing costs and experience foreclosures and evictions, they are at greater risk of becoming homeless (Johnson, 2007).
The title of this report – Unsheltered – acts as both a literal reference to the fact that, on any given night, 9 in 10 homeless persons in South LA sleep on the streets, but also alludes to the broader vulnerability faced by the underserved populations in South LA that makes for them the threat of becoming homeless a harsh reality.
contents
I. Foreword
II. Executive Summary
III. Introduction
IV. South Los Angeles
V. Causes of Homelessness
VI. South LA Homeless Population
VII. Policy Implications
VIII. Conclusion
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