Homelessness in LA: What Can We Do About It?

“There are an estimated 553,742 people in the United States experiencing homelessness on a given night, according to the most recent national point-in-time estimate (January 2017). This represents a rate of approximately 17 people experiencing homelessness per every 10,000 people in the general population,” according to National Alliance to End Homelessness.

This proves that homelessness has been increasing over the years and we as a community need to act upon it. There are many reasons that which may lead to homelessness, whether it is based on racial and sexual orientation or social and economic issues.

Up to 1.6 million young people experience homelessness in the United States every year, forty percent of them identify as LGBT, according to a 2012 study conducted by the Williams Institute at UCLA Law; it is estimated that LGBT youth represent about 7 percent of the population. Forty-six percent of homeless LGBT youths ran away because of family rejection of their sexual orientation or gender identity; 43 percent were forced out by parents, and 32 percent faced physical, emotional or sexual abuse at home.

Homelessness can also be because rent is rising or jobs are not paying enough to pay for rent increases. Day by day it is getting tremendously difficult for one to pay the rent or set food on the table so there is a real chance they might become homeless or have to live in someone else’s home. Apartment managers can increase the rent no matter what the person or families incomes is. Families are getting kicked out of their own homes because they are not being paid enough amount of money to sustainably provide for their families and themselves.

We continue to ignore poverty on an everyday basis like it is something normal. We live in a community that likes to pretend certain situations can be avoidable but that cannot be acceptable. There are approaches we can proceed to prevent homelessness and it’s increasing rate. In Canada, policies and practices have begun to change from managing homelessness to finding solutions, for example the particular expansion of the ‘Housing First’ approach across the country. Housing First’ is an approach to ending homelessness that centers on quickly moving people experiencing homelessness into independent and permanent housing and then providing additional supports and services as needed. I believe we can make a change in homelessness all we need is the courage and dedication to actually do it.

“There are an estimated 553,742 people in the United States experiencing homelessness on a given night, according to the most recent national point-in-time estimate (January 2017). This represents a rate of approximately 17 people experiencing homelessness per every 10,000 people in the general population”, according to National Alliance to End Homelessness. This proves that homelessness has been increasing over the years and we as a community need to act upon it. There are many reasons that which may lead to homelessness, whether it is based on racial and sexual orientation or social and economic issues.

Up to 1.6 million young people experience homelessness in the United States every year, forty percent of them identify as LGBT, according to a 2012 study conducted by the Williams Institute at UCLA Law; it is estimated that LGBT youth represent about 7 percent of the population. Forty-six percent of homeless LGBT youths ran away because of family rejection of their sexual orientation or gender identity; 43 percent were forced out by parents, and 32 percent faced physical, emotional or sexual abuse at home.

Homelessness can also be because rent is rising or jobs are not paying enough to pay for rent increases. Day by day it is getting tremendously difficult for one to pay the rent or set food on the table so there is a real chance they might become homeless or have to live in someone else’s home.

Apartment managers can increase the rent no matter what the person or families incomes is. Families are getting kicked out of their own homes because they are not being paid enough amount of money to sustainably provide for their families and themselves.

We continue to ignore poverty on an everyday basis like it is something normal. We live in a community that likes to pretend certain situations can be avoidable but that cannot be acceptable. There are approaches we can proceed to prevent homelessness and it’s increasing rate. In Canada, policies and practices have begun to change from managing homelessness to finding solutions, for example the particular expansion of the ‘Housing First’ approach across the country.

Housing First’ is an approach to ending homelessness that centers on quickly moving people experiencing homelessness into independent and permanent housing and then providing additional supports and services as needed. I believe we can make a change in homelessness all we need is the courage and dedication to actually do it.