Gentrification: A problem for Echo Park

I’ve heard and seen gentrification happen, mostly around the Echo Park community. Gentrification is when houses or districts are being renovated mostly for the middle-class taste. This is the reason why businesses and values of low-income housing has increased.

Families get kicked out without any notice because the owner never alerts the resident. Landlords don’t seem to care because they know they won’t gain financially by letting them know. The owner just thinks about the money, they don’t understand the struggle.

On the hills of Echo Park there was a family being interviewed because they were getting evicted from their home. The parents were paid minimum wage and it still wouldn’t be enough to cover the rent. Their daughter noticed them being worried and stressed out because they didn’t know what to do. What was going to happen next? The owner of the house had sold it to a new owner and the owner wanted to build luxurious houses.

The houses would be sold for about $800,000 a piece, obviously for the upper middle class. This family had to take it to court and they didn’t win. They didn’t have the money to pay for a second lawyer. Thankfully they got help from close friends, and found a small apartment in which they currently live in.

When gentrification happens, low-income families are never included. Why? Areas where low-income families live are known for gang violence, lack of education, thieves and more. Landlords never seem to see the good in people without wealth.

Low income families are never informed about information regarding gentrification and what you can do to save your home. Knowing your rights is really important as well. These rights include: the right hearing in front of a judge before the owner can evict you, the right to ask a judge to hold off evicting you until you find a place to live in, and the right to appeal a judge’s decision against you in the eviction case.

When talking to people about gentrification, they don’t know what it is or that it’s actually happening. They think it’s just a myth however, there are people who actually know what it is but don’t care because they like the new renovations. They don’t mind the cost of what’s being added.

The middle class own the luxurious places. People need to be more informed and aware of what’s happening in the world and who it’s affecting. Things like this can happen to anyone, even you. No one prepared for this.