The Hidden Struggles of Homelessness During the Pandemic
The homeless are one of L.A.’s most marginalized groups. This demographic is subject to a number of harrowing diseases, mental health issues, and an everyday struggle to survive. The pandemic has only intensified their hardships.
They have extremely limited access to healthcare. Add malnourishment and a higher rate of preexisting health conditions to the mix and we’ve got a population that is at an alarming risk for COVID-19.
For this sector, protecting themselves against the virus has become a near impossibility, as overcrowded shelters are a breeding ground for the virus.
For many of L.A.’s homeless, they face two equally dangerous possibilities: they can remain outside, exposed to the elements, and the risk of getting detained by the police, or they can face the risk of acquiring the virus at a shelter.
Masks and hand sanitizer are an unreachable luxury, so many of the homeless in L.A. have no form of protection, and no health care if they do contract the virus.
Not only is the pandemic intensifying the already critical living conditions of L.A.’s most vulnerable sector, but it is generating even more problems. It is creating more homelessness and putting more people on the streets than ever before.
The pandemic has left millions of Americans without a job and this mass unemployment (unprecedented since the Great Depression) will increase homelessness rates dramatically.
Columbia University professor, Dr. Brendan O’Flaherty, conducted a report predicting that homelessness will increase 40–45% in just this year. This means that an additional 250,000 people will find themselves sleeping on the streets, struggling to find their next meal.
Ways to Give Back
While this information is very disheartening, there are ways we can help. Here is a link for a GoFundMe that is raising funds to provide the homeless of L.A. with masks and hand sanitizers. This GoFundMe initiative is led by Emily Cha, a Project Leader at Linens N Love. As of right now, Emily has accrued over $1,400 in donations to directly be used towards purchasing masks and hand sanitizers to donate to local homeless individuals in Los Angeles.
Let’s not forget the homeless.
Let’s not leave them to fend for themselves in the midst of this global pandemic.
Sources
Oreskes, Benjamin. “Mass Unemployment over Coronavirus Could Lead to a 45% Jump in Homelessness, Study Finds.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2020, www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-05-14/coronavirus-unemployment-homeless-study-increase-45-percent.
“Analysis on Unemployment Projects 40–45% Increase in Homelessness This Year.” Community Solutions, 3 July 2020, community.solutions/analysis-on-unemployment-projects-40–45-increase-in-homelessness-this-year/.
Scott, Anna. “Homelessness In Los Angeles County Rises Sharply.” NPR, NPR, 12 June 2020, www.npr.org/2020/06/12/875888864/homelessness-in-los-angeles-county-rises-sharply.
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Edited by Aanya Khan, Director of Research Bloggers
