Homelessness in America, and stories from Boyle Heights
South Park Studies: Homelessness
LEARN
The number of homeless people in the U.S. is rising for the first time in years. What’s behind the increase? This article from The Week is a good primer on who in America is homeless, where they live, and what’s being done to help:
America’s Homeless Crisis
The Week, March 11, 2018How bad is the problem?
About 554,000 people in the U.S. were homeless on any given night in 2017 — including nearly 58,000 families with children — meaning they didn’t have a safe, permanent place to sleep. That figure represents a 1 percent rise since 2016 — the first time the nation’s homeless population has increased in seven years. But the country’s biggest cities, especially those on the West Coast, have seen a far bigger rise in homelessness. New York City, which has the nation’s largest homeless population, reported a 4 percent increase since 2016 to about 76,500 people, San Diego a 5 percent increase to 9,160, and Los Angeles a 26 percent increase to nearly 55,200. Many of those homeless people crowd into places like L.A.’s “Skid Row,” where hundreds of tents and tarpaulin shanties crowd the sidewalks just blocks from City Hall. “Skid Row is — and long has been — a national disgrace,” the Los Angeles Times wrote in a recent editorial. “In the world’s richest nation, homelessness on this scale should be shameful and shocking.”
Read the full article here.
GET INVOLVED
Everyone In is a campaign to end homelessness across Los Angeles County. Tomorrow, November 8 at 6:30 PM, Everyone In is hosting Everyone In: Stories from the Frontline, Boyle Heights. Join them for an evening of stories from people who’ve experienced homelessness.
ABOUT
This blog started as a way to engage with South Park stakeholders about the issues you care about. South Park Studies is a new initiative designed to bring you news and resources on the topics we hear questions about the most — homelessness, daycare and school availability, transportation, and more. Each topic, starting with homelessness, will be approached in a multi week series of article recommendations, volunteer opportunities, and more. Learn more about South Park by visiting southpark.la.
