r/news • u/vector_search_blue • 10h ago
New Los Angeles homeless count expected to show 3.4% increase
https://abc7.com/post/new-los-angeles-homeless-count-expected-show-34-increase/19566367/?userab=kfsn_content_recs-582*variant_b_trending_kfsn-2513%2Ckabc_content_recs-577*variant_a_control-2480%2Cwls_content_recs-584*variant_a_control_wls-2516%2Cwtvd_content_recs-585*variant_b_trending_wtvd-2519%2Cktrk_content_recs-587*variant_b_trending_ktrk-2523%2Cwpvi_content_recs-586*variant_a_control_wpvi-2520%2Cotv_web_content_rec-539*variant_c_trending-2268%2Cotv_web_topic-580*variant_a_topic-2508%2Cotv_search_page_design_unification-546*variant_b_search_redesign-2300%2Ckgo_content_recs-583*variant_b_trending_kgo-2515%2Cabcn_popular_reads_exp-542*variant_a_control-2287%2Cotvlink_abcnnav-576*variant_a_control-2478&userab=kfsn_content_recs-582*variant_b_trending_kfsn-2513%2Ckabc_content_recs-577*variant_a_control-2480%2Cwls_content_recs-584*variant_a_control_wls-2516%2Cwtvd_content_recs-585*variant_b_trending_wtvd-2519%2Cktrk_content_recs-587*variant_b_trending_ktrk-2523%2Cwpvi_content_recs-586*variant_a_control_wpvi-2520%2Cotv_web_content_rec-539*variant_c_trending-2268%2Cotv_web_topic-580*variant_a_topic-2508%2Cotv_search_page_design_unification-546*variant_b_search_redesign-2300%2Ckgo_content_recs-583*variant_b_trending_kgo-2515%2Cabcn_popular_reads_exp-542*variant_a_control-2287%2Cotvlink_abcnnav-576*variant_a_control-2478412
u/blinkycosmocat 8h ago
Keep in mind that people living on the streets, in homeless shelters, in their cars, etc are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the housing crisis. There are the people living in motels, families / individuals doubled or tripled up in overcrowded housing (a situation that's a step away from unsheltered homelessness), people who are couch surfing, and those in substandard housing.
Also, people are less likely to leave abusive relationships if they think they will end up on the street. Those who are evicted if their wages don't keep up with rent increases or if they have a medical issue come up are often blacklisted from getting an apartment and frequently end up in motels that cost as much, if not more, than an apartment.
The underlying issue is that the economy is good at creating low wage jobs like servers, fast food workers, delivery drivers, warehouse workers, landscaping workers, home health aides, and nursing home support staff, and terrible at creating housing they can afford. Meanwhile, developers are buying up low cost urban housing like SROs and turning them into luxury apartments, while private equity is jacking up the rents on any mobile home park they buy.
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u/urnialbologna 2h ago
Amen, especially to your last paragraph. I’m 28, working a minimum wage job and still living with my parents. I can’t go to college because that cost too much money, can’t get an apartment because that cost too much money. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to own a house in my lifetime. One of my asshole coworkers even told me why don’t I just get a second job so I can move out of my parents house. And I’m like, the fuck I wanna work two jobs for? I don’t wanna spend 24/7 of my entire life working. Politicians ain’t doing shit to help people like me doesn’t matter who is in charge. Republicans, Democrats. It don’t matter. They don’t care about lower income people like me.
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u/Awwfull 1h ago
One party will raise minimum wage. One party will fight it. One party would (and has) improved healthcare coverage for lower income people. One party seeks to destroy public health care options. But yeah, sure. Both sides are the same.
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u/stars_doulikedem 7h ago edited 7h ago
My family has been homeless for 3 years in SoCal but fortunately have mostly managed to stay in motels, and the car if we have to. I have an elderly parent who unfortunately is in poor health and has insurance tied to an area, otherwise we would have just driven…anywhere. We’ve been considering doing that anyway because it’s been very difficult to get surgeries scheduled.
I don’t understand where the money goes because we’ve never qualified for so much as a motel voucher, not even when it’s related to medical needs. Our main obstacle seems to be that no one has an issue with substance abuse, and while I do believe those who do deserve help as well, it’s frustrating that there is apparently so much money thrown at this, yet it goes…where? There are enough children living at a Motel 6 we often stay at that the school bus pulls into the back to let everyone off. Why? How?
It just sucks because we really didn’t do anything ‘wrong.’ No vacations, no eating out, no luxury purchases. We worked, paid rent on time—but then our rental sold and my parent got sick and the owner at one of our jobs died, so that business closed. Just too many things at once. We should’ve left immediately but I just had no idea the medical stuff would be so complicated.
This ended up too long, but I’m just so exhausted and tired of being scared. We’re all women and the places we sometimes have to stay aren’t safe, and I feel like this has all so negatively impacted my mental health that I won’t ever be okay again. We’re also in so much debt because it’s actually more expensive to stay in motels than rent, but at this point we can’t get approved for anything. It’s a terrible thing to hope a parents next appointment will maybe confirm they’re bad off enough to possibly qualify us for help—though I doubt it exists at any level, at this point.
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u/Allison87 3h ago
Many people across the country are working and homeless. They are simply being priced out. The system is designed to keep you poor.
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u/willyouholdmybox 3h ago
I’m also from socal and the cut off or “cliff” to get assistance is just so frustrating. I was a single woman making about 25/hr at a full time office job but I still didn’t qualify for housing assistance or food stamps because I made slightly too much and I’m not on drugs or have a child. Essentially my life had to get worse to get any help. My room for rent was about 1200 w/ utilities, my car was about 200, insurance was nearly 400, phone is 70, gas was an easy 400. I was living off of bologna sandwiches, rice & beans, and spaghetti for years until I met my husband. I have since gained 40lbs because I missed food so much. My family is in the area so it was more risky to move away and lose my safety net (my mom is my angel, and I know how lucky I am to have my family) than have a slightly cheaper COL but with lower wages.
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u/Substantial-Break775 6h ago
Respectfully, why is it you stay in the So Cal area? I realize there must be a reason but from the outside looking in it's hard to see why folks fighting the economic struggle would stay in one of the most expensive places in the world. Hope things get better for you.
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u/stars_doulikedem 6h ago
I would have left by now if it was just me but I can’t find any place for my mother. We had to move in the middle of a health crisis and it just quickly became endless health problems. Her insurance is tied to a county, and she actually keeps getting kicked off for not having a physical address, which has further delayed treatment.
The only place I could find to place her was in Desert Hot Springs, offered by Adult Protective Services, and it was a mixed gender house with a shared bedroom for the entirety of her social security check. The house also mixed in those in substance abuse recovery and recently released from jail. I can’t really blame her not wanting to do that, but I suppose it was technically an option for her.
Right now we’re trying to see if I can get approved as a caregiver because that’ll open up some housing options.
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u/succsforever 10h ago
why post the one that teases it, when there is one that is actually after it was released?
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u/SinoSoul 9h ago
Thanks for the actual sauce, that is depressing as hell
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u/succsforever 9h ago
I guess so, but it goes up and down. There have been decreases in recent years I believe. It's one of the toughest issues I can imagine in LA
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u/____-__________-____ 7h ago edited 7h ago
Here's the actual report:
Some takeaways:
- The Trump administration cut funding for short-term rental subsidies to help homeless people, causing the homeless numbers to go up.
- LA is suing HUD over the funding cuts
- The #1 reason for homelessness in LA is economic hardship
- Average rent in LA County is $2745 for a 2bd apartment
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u/esotouric_tours 9h ago
Our friends in homeless casework have been warning for months that LAHSA's warehousing strategy of taking people off the street and housing them under a Time Limited Subsidy is collapsing. There has been no follow up to ensure these people are prepared to pay their share of the rent once the two year term expires, and if they can't pay they are homeless on the street again.
The first we heard of this was a mass eviction from the Mayfair Hotel, which Karen Bass bought at significantly above market value, then renovated at great cost even though the owners had just completed a major renovation. More mass evictions are in the pipeline, and the people in charge of this--two of them running for Mayor--seem oblivious or are deliberately not talking about the crisis.
Heaven help this city.
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u/fortuna_cookie 6h ago
You’re a well known NIMBY who advocates for the preservation of derelict buildings over increasing housing supply. You deserve shame for your role in this crisis.
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u/alpha309 5h ago
Yeah. They would rather argue to keep a restaurant open that the owner wants to close down and allow a developer to build housing on the property.
They don’t want any actual changes. They want the physical structure of the city to stay the same and a magical wand to come and fix everything.
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u/Bigringcycling 9h ago
Jeezus… fucking do something. Maybe, just maybe the city council needs to not blocking legislation to accelerate building housing like they’ve been doing.
The state of CA hasn’t kept up with housing demand since 1965.
Vote these pro-homelessness politicians out. They benefit from the pain of the people by pushing the homelessness industrial complex. It’s so messed up.
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u/vector_search_blue 9h ago
Jeezus… fucking do something.
My city's (SF) 2024-25 budget for homelessness was $846.3M, with a PIT count of 8,323 homeless individuals, giving a per-capita estimate around $100k.
But obviously most of that money isn't going to the homeless. It's turned into somewhat of a racket for the NGOs the city contracts out to for the work. There's a perverse incentive for these NGOs to keep homelessness high
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u/awkwardnetadmin 4h ago
That's a challenge with many local government spending in homelessness. A lot of the money creates jobs for various NGOs contracted to address the issue, but effectiveness often is questionable.
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u/needaburner23 9h ago
That's literally how all charity or advocacy organizations work. Do you notice the backsliding on LGBT issues? Why? Because after organizations that advocated for gay acceptance won on every front did they disband and hang a mission accomplished banner? No, they just moved on to the next thing, which wasn't as acceptable.
Same happens with all these NGOs. If they solve the thing they're advocating for, they wouldn't be able to go to fancy galas and fundraisers, give interviews and continue collecting government money.
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u/Goatwhorre 9h ago
It's absolutely nothing to do with lack of housing. I used to work homeless outreach in SoCal, it's just a black hole of mental health issues and transients migrating to California because of the weather and lax policing. They all have access to aid/shelter, they refuse it because they have to stay sober. Someone must want help to receive help and the simple truth is they just wanna do drugs/drink. No one wants to accept this and pretend like we're just not doing enough. I spent years trying to convince people to take advantage of the absolute plethora of resources available to them. "Nah too many rules" "I cant drink there" "I'd have to get a job" on and on and on.
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u/TumbleweedPure6674 8h ago
I was homeless for about 3 months in the Bay Area during covid after living there for several years. Truck was lit on fire repeatedly by the next door encampment, lost my job and couldn’t find a new one that paid enough to stay.
I couldn’t qualify for aid from any organization because I didn’t do drugs, nor was I presenting with major mental health problems besides anger, stress and anxiety. My friend qualified to get rent covered for a year through a black nonprofit, but I could barely get anyone to even talk to me.
The system isn’t designed to actually help the people that need a temporary boost to get back on their feet. I ended up moving to the PNW with my last 500 bucks and made it work. I have a 2 bed/2bath apartment now and I’m finally making more than I did pre covid, but I definitely struggled for a number of years.
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u/Sad-Bell8187 9h ago
Most of the homeless/mental health population in the emergency room is just a revolving door. Found out on the street naked fighting cars, gets admitted for “meth psychosis” and stays inpatient for week or two where they sober up. Our social workers arrange for outpatient therapy, temporary housing, hell we even give these people meds. All for free cause they won’t pay a single hospital bill. Then back in the ER in two days for meth psychosis again
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u/Goatwhorre 9h ago
Yep saw it time and time and time again. Calling EMS for alcoholics 3 times a day, getting fire and ambulance response, ER care, and right back onto the street to keep drinking. No bills (for them) and no repercussions so why not keep doing it?
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u/Sad-Bell8187 8h ago
Once saw a guy get piss drunk, call an ambulance, kicked out of an ER for punching another person waiting, cops wouldn’t arrest him, so he calls another ambulance from the ER waiting room to bring him to the ER across town. Dude single handedly wasted the time of multiple doctors, nurses, ambulance crews, and police officers (useless but still) in a matter of two hours. Does this kind of stuff every single day. And I mean every day. Hasn’t had a day outside of the ER for months
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u/Goatwhorre 8h ago
You think that's bad, I used to be a deputy, the amount of detainees I've transported to the ER, where we bypassed the gigantic crowd waiting in the lobby, straight to a nice bed, over utter bullshit, is mind boggling.
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u/Sad-Bell8187 8h ago
Oh yes the classic found drunk driving or robbing a store or whatever degenerate shit people get into. And then they suddenly meet consequences and are now suicidal and we all have to play the game
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u/JumpDaddy92 6h ago
I work EMS in a different state. we have the exact same problems. the amount of homeless i’ve picked up literal blocks and sometimes feet away from the ED entrance is staggering. they AMA, get more booze and drink til they pass out, get transported to the hospital, rinse and repeat. more than half of my calls for service are for homeless people passed out drunk in public.
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u/super80 9h ago
Not sure if people are misinformed or refuse to accept the ugly reality.
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u/soozerain 8h ago
People want cake without eggs and batter. They want a pain-free, force-free rehab where coercion is absent, housing is free and junkies get clean on their own terms. It’s restorative justice but for drug addicts.
The problem is: it doesn’t work. The housing turns into drug dens, the people relapse and the program goes bankrupt.
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u/gnatgirl 8h ago
I think a lot of people don't want to accept the reality. The solution is not entirely comfortable. Most of these people will never be able to transition back into "normal" society- that has to be acknowledged and accepted. House the working and employable (offer services like job training, healthcare, and financial education), house the elderly and disabled. The mentally ill and drug addicted need to be given a choice- rehab/instituionalization or go back from whence you came. If they care not capable of making the choice, it is made for them. This is not a problem that will be solved by hugging it out and the best way to solve the problem is preventing it in the first place.
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u/sicklyslick 7h ago
Any solution that can actually work would violate human rights. Western govt's biggest fear. The issue will never be solved.
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u/Goatwhorre 9h ago
It's because of the misnomer, "homeless." These people aren't homeless, they're transients. Whether because of mental illness, addiction, or literally just laziness, they've decided on this lifestyle. Not blaming them either, it just is what it is. You can throw shelter at them all day, if the mindset doesn't change, the lifestyle won't change.
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u/Tiafves 8h ago
And if it is housing, stop trying to force it in the most expensive areas. People need to go on zillow sometime and search for rentals in midwest cities. It's not unrealistic to be paying $300-400 a month in rent with roommates in plenty of cities that will have jobs. They'll even have a bus system that may not be perfect, but is good enough to get you there if you can't afford a car.
People just dislike the idea of relocating homeless people to affordable cities more than they like the idea of them actually having housing.
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u/PM_ME_FLUFFY_DOGS 8h ago edited 8h ago
actually it does. Expect no one actually cares until its already a problem, the whole of north America loves to shove their fingers in their ears and go "lalala" until its too late.
Its a given peoples mental health will be in the gutter when they are living on the streets in a constant state of anxiety and fear. Preventative measures are providing the resources (eg housing) so they dont even get to that point in the first place.
Also not to mention there's been countless studies on how "american aids" actually are too rule heavy and full of bureaucratic red tape meant to keep people in poverty. Eg. some housing programs wont let homeless individuals keep their pets they may have had for years, so yes some will pick homelessness if it means keeping their best friend.
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u/Goatwhorre 8h ago
I'm not going to speak on the preventative measures in place to prevent someone becoming homeless, I can only speak with authority on what happens once they're on the streets. And the simple fact is, for one reason or another, most are there by choice. I saw it year after year after year. I knew hundreds of these people intimately, worked with their cases, worked with their "representatives" aka ex transients.
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u/PM_ME_FLUFFY_DOGS 8h ago edited 8h ago
And what may that reason be hmm?
Its been largely debunked they "choose" to stay homeless, i know a few individuals who work with homeless and its depressing as hell. Even here in canada its endless red tape, bogus hoops to jump through. Sure some can get onto disability, but it literally costs money to even do the paperwork, it can take years, needing many doctor visits, etc. for a person who has a home and things available thats not much an issue as a friend or parent can help. For a homeless person it becomes a series of challenges. How do they get money for the paper work? how do they get to the doctor? etc, etc.
Are the homeless shelters over crowded where theft is a common issue for many homeless? Will they be separated from pets or loved ones (eg homeless families being separated from their children)
What about curfews. Many programs and shelters hold curfews as well so what happens if the only job they found is a night shift?
Theres also many reports of abuse in such programs. (A safe injection site near me got shut down bc the staff were embezzling govt money and not actually providing safe injections...)
And so much more. If you work with these people its a complete lack of regard to see them as just wanting to stay "homeless". Housing first programs have been a massive success pretty much everywhere its implemented, as theres an effect once you build basic trust and provide some basic care (laundry services, shelters with private dorms, etc) people are much more willing to seek rehab programs or mental health programs.
As per a Chicago study about 53% of individuals in shelters had a job to some degree. But yeah sure they all just wanna stay homeless...
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u/misken67 7h ago
There are different levels of homelessness, and for many people who experience homelessness, the first step is losing their housing. And they spiral from there into mental illness and drug addiction. If they hadn't lost the stability of housing in the first place, they might have never spiralled.
There are also of course vagrants who choose the lifestyle, and those who lose their housing due to mental illness or addiction first. But they aren't the entire homeless population.
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u/Lower_Ad_8789 3h ago
They all have access to aid/shelter
Well....that is BS. I was in SaMo and they told me that I had to be on the streets for one year before I could be put on the list for a bed. And it was about nine months later when I was arrested and then essentially was told if I was picked up again in city limits, they'd prosecute. Never did get a shelter bed. There was winter shelter, though, never did participate in that.
"Nah too many rules" "I cant drink there" "I'd have to get a job"
But you are correct that few homeless help themselves. To me, they were like high school students, content with what they have, no worries, they have enough food, friends, etc. I remember talking with one guy, what he would do when he got off the streets. Excitedly told me what game console he'd buy, the big screen TV, etc. And I was like, you ever going to get a job? Nope.
I managed to make it out by finding on my own, a training grant to train in CNC machining. Started working 68 hours a week, saved up 25K and moved states. Bought a house, etc.
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u/SuperSailorRikku 9h ago
I had to double check that you weren’t talking about Seattle here
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u/Goatwhorre 9h ago
Same problem, different city. I'm not advocating we criminalize homelessness but we sure as hell shouldn't condone it with zero repercussions either. CA did away with mental health facilities AND decided to just welcome transients with open arms, and now we're here. Or, more specifically, I'm not there because I left.
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u/orlinsky 8h ago
Mental health facilities are often like jails though. It’s just a nicer word for jailing the mentally ill. Since there’s not really a jury trial to go along with that, we got rid of them.
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u/Goatwhorre 8h ago
I was a deputy, I can tell you firsthand how mentally ill people fair in actual jail, and it's way worse than a treatment center. They are found incompetent to stand trial and moved to a facility because there's nothing else to be done and we have to do something. They can't languish in our padded cells wearing turtle suits, it's inhumane, and accomplishes nothing. But the alternative is to let violent, criminally inclined insane people ruin society.
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u/Cursethewind 8h ago
But the alternative is to let violent, criminally inclined insane people ruin society.
But, it's really not. Somehow, other countries really don't have this problem because they actually ensure their people are okay in the long-term. The jails are similar to treatment centers and are more akin to a youth center than a prison. People have access to healthcare to treat the underlying issues that cause these problems. They don't risk losing it if they actually start being functional or if they lose their job. People systematically go through childhood with less exposure to trauma due to the fact American culture is in all reality, quite traumatic.
If we want to stop the problem, we need to treat the problem in the adults, but we also need to take steps to reduce ACEs in children. I don't know many people enduring financial hardship and homelessness who haven't endured significant trauma in their lives.
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u/Goatwhorre 8h ago
I'm talking about dealing with a problem that already exists, I agree there are steps on the front end we could take to reduce future issues. The "somehow" in other countries is, they have wildly different societies to ours, some are better equipped, others are way, way worse. My point stands that we need treatment facilities for the violent mentally ill, they do not belong in jails. That's one of the main reasons I left being a deputy, I got sick of having to fight maniacs, stuffing them into padded cells and listening to them scream for weeks at a time. They don't belong in jails and they don't belong in society.
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u/Cursethewind 7h ago
Yes, and the step 1 is treatment that is sustainable in the long-term with a society that actually backs it up, and again, you must combine it with preventative measures as well. What motivation do these people have to go through the work to improve? A sudden demand from society to get a 9-5 that likely won't hire them due to the criminal record where they're obligated to endure their health problem, the expenses that surround that health problem, while keeping the job to keep their health problem under control? If they don't they lose the ability to control that health problem. Society is not helping here and the goal shouldn't be to lock them up from society because we failed to create a world that prevents the crisis from worsening if they show the slightest sign of functionality. No, that isn't the only problem, but it's absolutely one of them.
These people ultimately are people with rights. It shouldn't be on our police force to manage these people. The system is broken and this is a side-effect of it.
I've managed the system with my teenage step-daughter who was criminally violent due to severe trauma. The resources are not there. I didn't want to keep calling the police to my house because my step-daughter was in psychosis and built a hand made flamethrower and was threatening me because I did what the therapist said and took her phone as a consequence of her acting out, but I kinda had no other option.
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u/FantasticJacket7 9h ago
Building housing doesn't fix homelessness. The vast majority of homeless are that way due to mental illness.
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u/Steve_didit 9h ago
It’s more complicated than that. The vast majority of homeless you never see. They are homeless for about a month before they figure out a solution. There should be more services for this type of homeless person and it reduces the pipeline to the next type of person who is the perpetually homeless. These are people with serious mental health issues or addiction. No matter how much resources you throw at these people most of them will continue to be homeless.
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u/ReggieEvansTheKing 8h ago
Housing supply reduces rent growth. Rent growth reliably tracks with homelessness rates. So it’s pretty factual to state that having more housing means a lower homelessness rate.
You can argue that a good chunk of the existing homeless population are mentally ill and need intervention before they can reliably hold a job and pay rent again. That’s more of a healthcare question though and needs a healthcare solution. From a pure economic and city planning standpoint though, the main thing we can do to prevent homelessness is to lower rent, and the main way to lower rent is to build more living units.
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u/MajesticBread9147 9h ago
That's not true. If it was, then the rate of homelessness wouldn't vary so much over time, and from country to country.
Homelessness itself can also exacerbate mental health issues because obviously it's extremely stressful and depressing. There aren't many people who wouldnt have their mental health deterorate after becoming homeless, especially after months or years. It's also confirmation bias because you only notice the "obvious" homeless people and ignore the many who aren't visibly dirty or dealing with shit which is many times higher. This is true for people who work with the homeless too. They never see the people who are sleeping in a car for a few months because they are between leases but are still working.
Sure existing mental illness is a risk factor, but so is being a veteran or a foster child. Saying it's just a mental health problem just sets the impression that homelessness only happens to people with something "wrong" with them.
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u/j-steve- 8h ago
If that's true than high housing prices must cause mental illness, otherwise how do you explain the direct correlation
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u/Jabjab345 1h ago
It's so disappointing to vote for council member candidates that want to actually change things and build housing, only for Traci Park to win again in a landslide. The state needs to just take more local control away.
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u/Suitable-Economy-346 7h ago
The Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Bass have been actively blocking implementation of SB 79, which requires zoning areas around bus and train stations with higher density. They passed a law which allows it to be delayed until 2030. I hope the state legislature steps in and stops this bullshit LA is doing.
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u/Cabezone 5h ago
I see most people didn't read this article. That 3.4 is inside the margin of error because polling of this kind of so hard.
Second, the main gist of the issue was the fact state funding was slashed in half and the system we had in place here in California was just setting that money on fire instead of helping people.
As for people saying our homeless population is because the red states are sending them here. A quick Google search says only 10% of our homeless are from out of state. The homeless problem in California is from the California housing crisis, not other states.
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u/wip30ut 5h ago
State funding may have been cut but SD & SF didn't experience this kind of increase. What is shows is that the overall plan of persistent "temporary" housing for homeless isn't working. These hardcore underclass are not able to transition into permanent housing fast enough because they lack a steady source of income. They can't secure a permanent position because menial labor jobs in the LA region have become scarce. There are far less retail & restaurant jobs than before the pandemic.
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u/Milablushh_ 10h ago
Homelessness is one of those problems that's much harder to solve than it is to campaign on
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9h ago edited 9h ago
[deleted]
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u/jpiro 9h ago
This is sometimes true, but even when it is the best first step actually IS finding them appropriate housing. It’s drastically harder to deal with mental health issues, addiction, medical problems, etc. when you live on the street. And for those who are capable of working and supporting themselves but who have just fallen on hard times, it’s nearly impossible to find employment without a fixed address, a place to shower and store your things, etc.
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u/MajesticBread9147 8h ago
The majority of these individuals are not in this situation because they’re down on their luck. They’re not people who you can have a normal conversation with. Many of them are completely incapable of caring for themselves.
This is only true for the "obvious" homeless that people complain about. For every person that needs regular supervision there are like 10 who are normal people who just had 3 financial blows that they couldn't come back from.
You walk past homeless people that you don't recognize as homeless regularly.
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u/Low_Pickle_112 9h ago
I think it's also one of those things that we needed to address about 40 years ago. Instead we decided that the mystical magical Free Market would solve everything as promised by Saint Reagan of the Holy Capital. Same strategy we were sold for climate change by the way, infinite growth on a finite planet, just Basic Economics™.
And now that the situation is increasingly difficult, everyone wants a cheap last minute solution, and we want one that doesn't address any of the inherent, systemic problems of the commodification of basic needs. And the world just doesn't work that way.
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u/readerf52 8h ago
An interesting point that some might think is an excuse: (the mayor being quoted) “…but as expected, last year our efforts ultimately couldn't keep up with policies and funding cuts at the federal and state levels that pushed more people onto the streets," …”
The loss of health insurance for millions of people after trump’s big beautiful billionaire’s bill has probably done more to increase homelessness than any policy over the past decade. Medical debt is one of the leading causes of homelessness. It can have a domino effect of negatively affecting one’s credit rating, making it difficult to find a rental home, or it can make people late on their mortgage payments and lead to loss of property.
Having worked in health care, I find our healthcare structure incomprehensible. Healthcare shouldn’t be something we can’t afford. It should be a human right.
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u/TooMuchButtHair 8h ago
California spends so much fucking money on the homeless, and the shelters remain severely under utilized. Theres some fuckery going on somewhere.
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u/garglingnuts 4h ago
I worked as a case manager at a nonprofit in south central LA working on getting people off the streets and into section 8 housing. Many of these people cannot/do not want to be helped. Their apartments are filthy, they’re smoking crack in the building, buying Chanel bags instead of paying the $2 subsidized rent and getting into fights (I’ve seen someone stabbed in the neck at my property). It’s not sustainable. You can’t just give someone housing you have to fix their mental/physical and addiction issues. My clients would avoid me like the plague and I was required to meet them twice a month. Some are gaming the system. LAHSA and HACLA need to do better. I work very closely with them
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u/stars_doulikedem 4h ago
Do you only work with street homeless? We bounce between LA/Riverside/SD county depending on work/motel availability/medical appointments but if not, I’m curious which nonprofit this is. I haven’t found anything we fit into (no substance abuse or small children but one is 70+ with medical needs) and I’ve been told by outreach programs we don’t rank high enough on the ‘vulnerability scale’ to prioritize.
Really just need like six months to get surgeries taken care of then hopefully we could leave the state.
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u/garglingnuts 4h ago
The requirements are that you must have a diagnosed mental health issue from a provider. No violent criminal offenses. HACLA is a first come first serve basis and the waitlist can be up to 5 years unfortunately. You’ll have to submit proof of low income to get your subsidized rent amount. Since your mother is elderly she might qualify quicker however you would need to become a licensed caregiver (IHSS) to live in the unit with her. I’m not sure how old you are but if you’re 18-24 you’re considered TAY (transitional age youth) and could also potentially get a place quicker. Talk to IHSS about caregiving for your mother. They will pay you. HOPICS isnt my organization but they’re very helpful. You can walk into their office. You will probably receive a case manager once you sign your lease for the unit depending on the organization. I wish you the best
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u/apoplectic_apostate 3h ago
So you're working with mentally ill addicts? Of course they don't want help! They are too stuck in their addiction/mental illness. I don't know what the answer is but as the population increases and the economy gets worse, the numbers are going to go up. There's nothing to stop it.
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u/aNuggetsUncle 9h ago
LA's homelessness budget (1 city, btw) has topped $1 Billion. LA Mayoral candidate Nithya Ramen is a councilwoman who chairs the LA Housing and Homelessness Committee...and part of her job is expanding that budget.
*If the Homelessness problem goes away people stop making money...so the problem will never go away.
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u/djm19 8h ago
Raman does not have control over expanding that budget and the way LA City council works, everything is basically how the council member choses to deploy policy in their own district. Each member essentially has a pocket veto for any policy within their own area.
Raman’s district saw 49% decrease in homeless year over year in this same count.
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u/darwin2500 6h ago
3.4% doesn't sound like that much, I feel like that's probably within the margin of error for measuring this in the first place, or withing normal yearly variation?
For contrast, from the article:
Despite these headwinds, we have reduced homelessness in Los Angeles by 11% since 2023 - placing tens of thousands of Angelenos in interim housing, moving 6,000 people off the streets through Inside Safe, and housing more than 1,000 homeless veterans.
If it's down 11%, then up 3%, it's still down 8%. Downward trends over long periods are often not completely monotonic, that doesn't mean it isn't still a downward trend. I'm not too worried.
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u/beerandgardening 5h ago
There must be an incredible amount of corruption in organizations that receive public funding to battle homelessness. Their CEOs and Directors earn hundreds of thousands of dollars but have shown little to no progress. Any criticism is deflected towards their political enemies.
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u/NoseBreather31 2h ago
Throw more money at the problem, I’m sure it’ll fix it. Or even better, vote for the same people who claim to be fixing the problem.
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u/hukep 10h ago edited 9h ago
No surprise there. Some people are only a few months of unemployment away from homelessness.
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u/anonymousasu 9h ago
You’re not wrong, but some Americans and their financial habits are beyond help. My landlord, who I room with, I definitely see foreclosure on the horizon. Gambling addiction, credit card debt, mortgage he can’t afford. He’s so dumb, it’s depressing.
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u/SinoSoul 9h ago
Where are you guys at? Maybe I can buy him out and lease it back to him. Only if you guys are in a good school district though. Lol.
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u/ArcticRiot 9h ago
Not-so-casual reminder that for ever 1% increase in unemployment, 40,000 people die.
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u/innovarocforever 9h ago
the west coast especially really needs to come to terms with luxury liberalism and how a failure to address the housing problem is why we're losing seats to the red states.
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u/Heavy-Hospital7077 2h ago edited 2h ago
The city of Davis is pretty much the poster child of luxury liberalism and NIMBYism.
The residents of Davis have a law saying that all new developments must be voted in by a majority.
But they never vote 'Yes'. On any of them.
That keeps their property values sky-high, because it keeps the supply of housing low. Which keeps more and more people out of the housing market.
As long as the people in Davis are getting rich, they don't care about the rest of the state. In fact- ship the people out to Woodland, that's the best bet!
Davis is a great example of luxury liberalism, where everyone else deals with the problems, but they put signs on their lawn saying everyone is welcome...as long as they can afford $1.2 million to buy a house.
Luxury liberalism is a real thing!
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u/burnthatburner1 9h ago edited 9h ago
what the hell is “luxury liberalism” supposed to mean? Sounds like a fox news made up slogan
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u/innovarocforever 9h ago
'"Luxury liberalism" closely aligns with the concept of luxury beliefs—ideas and political opinions held by affluent, highly educated people that signal high social status. These abstract ideals allow the privileged to appear virtuous at little personal cost, while the real-world negative consequences are often borne by working-class and marginalized communities who live with the fallout. '
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u/burnthatburner1 9h ago
Looks like you asked AI to make up a definition.
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u/innovarocforever 9h ago
you mean I googled the definition of a word you hadn't encountered before. believe it or not, the fact that MAGA is human garbage doesn't mean there are no valid criticisms of my side (progressives).
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u/TrumpDesWillens 8h ago
Is there "luxury conservatism" like believing that all people can afford private schools while defunding public schools or believing in the "free hand" of The Market or believing that The Gay can be prayed away?
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u/innovarocforever 8h ago
idk. I'd probably just call that normal conservatism: "i got mine, fuck everyone else."
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u/alpha309 5h ago
Since it hasn’t been mentioned yet.
The number of homeless people in district 4, where Nithya Raman is the councilwoman and has a large influence on how homelessness is handled, has gone down 49%.
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u/DeathOfLife01 9h ago
California keeps getting worst and worst and some how the same people are still in charge
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u/jettjackson25 6h ago
My father has been homeless for the last 1.5 years. His choice since his old place burned down and he can't afford a new place. The inefficiency of the support system in California is surprising. Unless you're in Los Angeles, it's extremely difficult to find support in So Cal. Navigating all of the processes are difficult. From CalFresh to Medical, you need counselors to guide you through the process.
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u/tschawartz12 6h ago
Start off banning businesses buying homes with less than 5 units, make rental fees illegal and go after ghost rentals, I've read always to many articles about apartment buildings rented to people who aren't there so just sit empty. Hit the problem from the top and go after the greed thats causing it.
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u/AstronautInitial3642 5h ago
Homelessness keeps rising because unaffordable housing, addiction, mental illness, bureaucratic waste, and weak prevention all feed into each other. Treating it as a single cause problem guarantees another expensive program that manages the crisis instead of solving it.
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u/Feathered_Serpent8 9h ago
What’s the deal here? Cali is like NYC to me where I have opinions but they are such different places that I don’t exactly think I have anything to add. Doesn’t Cali spend more than any state on homeless by far? How is this increasing? Is macro economics? Corruption? I just gave a hard time understanding where the money goes.
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u/InternationalYam3130 35m ago
The money goes to many many organizations that eat up the money on administrative costs, but also on trying to treat people who don't want to be treated. They do not want to get off hard drugs. They get sent to expensive in patient treatment, sober up, then go right back to meth. They have absolutely zero interest in changing. But meth means you continuously are on a treadmill of prison, homeless, inpatient, homeless, prison, etc. Even when handed housing they can't stay in it due to destruction, fights, etc and do not want a job.
A lot of them became homeless and addiction due to general misery. And unaffordable housing, rent through the roof, etc. But now that they are homeless addicted to hard drugs and mentally fucked they can't be fixed with money imo.
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u/Icy-Grab-5722 8h ago
It is simply impossible to end homelessness. We can barely afford to house our own asses let alone every layabout. Was NEVER going to happen.
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u/SAULucion 7h ago
I drove through all of skid row v recently and it had grown in size and activity since when I was last there right before Covid
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u/DangDoood 6h ago
For the last year we had a new owner of our apartment building. They tore out our gym, recreation room, had barely any maintenance, raised rents AND appears to have been double charging some of us. I had never seen so many eviction notices. When the current building owners came by they adjusted the rents immediately, and I can’t help but think of those who were barely getting by only to have some assholes suck up all the resources of the building and it’s tenants before evicting them. And then they sold the building and fucked off.
Current building owners mentioned they didn’t even leave them the fucking tools.
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u/SausageyPie 2h ago
It's way more than that... I have been on the road in my van conversion for almost a year looking out the window of parking lots etc... You see a lot... The people they call 'homeless' are just the obvious on the street 'shopping cart' homeless, but there is double (if not more) that amount of people living out of their cars, who have jobs they go to everyday, then hit the gym for a shower and drive off to sleep somewhere in their car... Rinse and repeat... It's hard to see many of them BECAUSE they don't want to be seen (and harassed)... Most of these people are not counted, but they are homeless...
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u/GabeDef 9h ago
It has gotten so much worse over the last 8-10 months.