Before Reagan became governor, the non violent mentally disturbed who were processed through the criminal justice system were diverted to halfway houses and given shelter and professional help. Reagan later dismantled this system, throwing them onto the streets as homeless or simply creating a system which survives in California today...using jails as holding pens for the mentally ill as well as criminals.
The conservative mind is quick to rail against the homeless as shirkers, parasites and outcasts while pandering to the moneyed who trade cash for political favor or simply parlay political office into ill gotten wealth, confusing what constitutes a parasite's existence.
Honestly, only the godly could tolerate sharing a Starbuck's coffee in close quarters with a rank homeless without revulsion. That said, the task at hand is what our immensely wealthy society, with less than 4 per cent unemployed, are to do with the thousands of homeless, many of whom are unemployable or mentally impaired, who pile their lives into shopping carts and sleep in our parks and streets.
We can start by recognizing that the leasts expensive and humane recourse for an enlightened society is to fund housing, food and care to the extent that there would be no reason to beg or sleep in the street. If we can acknowledge that holding the mentally ill homeless in jails is less cost effective than the subsidized alternative we'll have come a long way to regaining our self respect and restoring lives.
9
Mr. Bezos could single handedly solve the homeless problem and still be the richest man in the world! And yet he doesn't. Hmm...
6
Many of the homeless come from out of state due to the beautiful weather and space. Some are drug addicted (self destructive behavior that deserves contempt), some are mentally ill, some lost their homes (really? When there is a will, there is a way, find work no matter what!!). time to do more, tough love is needed, not empathy. They need to pull their own weight too.
2
"voters have approved millions of dollars to tackle the issue" -- for 53,000 homeless people they've approved nearly enough to buy one third of a single-family home in Santa Monica?
It is interesting that the only person that the reporter could find with a kind word for the local homeless is Mr. Maceri, the executive director of a social services agency, whose paycheck depends on the continued supply of local homeless.
7
Widespread homelessness and destitution in the U.S. is one of the consequences of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. It's part of the Republican's Contract With America, a major legislative attack on the welfare state, which was intended to assist the poor, disabled and underemployed. It has taken some years, and a financial crisis, for the consequences of PRWORA to become evident for all to see.
5
The homeless advocates created most of the problem. Rewarding hobos and bums and drunks. Getting rid of loitering laws and going soft on drug use does not help. Feeding the homeless, needle exchanges, and shelters just creates more.
5
I'm curious, what's your suggested option?
6
Just got back from Portland and found it was just as full of street people as San Francisco. I often wonder how many of these people are locals and how many are attracted by decent weather and relatively tolerant policies. I know two people who have been assaulted by mentally ill indigents and have witnessed open drug injection. I think it's time for some more forceful provision of services. Take them off the streets to a situation where treatment is mandatory. Provide it humanely, but insistently. If that doesn't work, institutionalize.
3
I work with this population of people. Most have significant early childhood trauma. Most want help; they want therapy, treatment, to get clean, to get jobs, to go back to school, to live dignified lives, to contribute, etc.. But if we truly want to help these folks we need to be willing to spend more money to assist them, and unfortunately that's not happening at the federal level across all states. And we CAN afford it. It's about priorities. More military spending or more investment in our fellow citizens.
5
Another reason to crack down on illegal aliens. According to Pew Research there are 500,000 illegal aliens in NY metro area. If they double and triple up and they do to save cost even at 10 people per unit that is 50,000 housing units off the market.
Why bleeding heart liberals want to turn the US into a 3rd world slum is a mystery.
2
Hey let's build some more F-15's .. F-35's, F- whatevers' at a billion a piece. You know that 1% needs alot of protection.
5
McDonnell Douglas, the manufacturer of the F-15, was acquired for $13 billion. It was not profitable enough to be worth even 1X revenue.
The welfare industry in the U.S. is funded with more than $19 billion... per WEEK.
Keep this in mind if you ever need to choose between being a defense contractor and a welfare contractor (e.g., Medicaid-funded health care provider or affordable housing entrepreneur).
2
The West Coast of the United States is as good as advertising to the rest of the country: mentally ill and don't want to take your meds? drug-addicted but don't want to detox? tattooed all the way up your neck and dreadlocked? Move here! We won't hospitalize you or throw you in jail when you break the law, especially when you break in to our homes. We'll even provide a place for you to shoot up, and a veterinarian for your dog. We'll allow you to take over our public libraries, even though you don't have the slightest desire to read. We'll let you pitch a tent on a little league baseball diamond and tell the kids that their game is postponed rather than throw you out of the park. (yes, this really did happened in Seattle) I talked recently to a gentleman who tries to help find services, medical care and even jobs for people in homeless camps. He said that 80% of the people he deals with don't want city services, mental health care, addiction counseling or even a job. So I say let's do anything and spend any amount of money necessary to help the deserving 20%, and tell the rest of them explicitly "Not in My Back Yard."
9
Golly, how "uncivil" of poor people to do anything that might make rich people feel uncomfortable, ruin their lovely days minding their own business, out in the public.
4
We need living wages. In Portland, we have folks who are homeless even though the have jobs. They've just been priced out of the rental market. Some live in their cars. Some have sold their cars and are on the streets. Some have children with them. We also have people who experience chronic homelessness (often early trauma made worse through self-medication and/or mental health issues) alongside the newly homeless (people who've lost their jobs and homes and are struggling to regain control over their lives in an economy that relies on low-wage jobs, part-time positions, and extractors with benefits). Most people without homes, want to work, they want to live with dignity and a sense of purpose. Our safety nets to help them make this happen are being eroded by this administration. It's all very sad.
2
Extractors with benefits should have read "Contractors withOUT benefits."
1
If i was homeless(i'm one paycheck from the street) LA is where I'd want to live.
The weather is great and you wouldn't have to worry about freezing to death
at night.
10
Same with us "empathetic" Bay Area residents. We support the disadvantaged and poor in theory but NIMBY. We consistently reject most ballot measures that may even allow our teachers, police and fire departments to actually live in the cities they serve. If those with middle class salaries won't be helped, how do homeless people have a chance?
6
The young couple on the beach getting food and clothing are homeless..........and they have two dogs!? What's wrong with this picture?
5
Beth they have cell phones too.
3
Perhaps they had jobs, a home and two dogs, and lost everything. It's understandable they'd want to keep their dogs with them. Also, regarding cell phones, if you're looking for work or a place to live you NEED a cell phone. And there are very low-cost phones and plans for people who are low-income. Let's stop the judgement; it doesn't help.
5
Homeless people always have dogs- as if feeding yourself isn't enough. Most of them are just lazy. Many in fact have a place to go - they just don't want to return. Life's responsibilities are too heavy and cumbersome. It's easier just to languish the day panhandling, doing drugs or like that clown in the photo- crashing on the beach. Why can'y we send our Homeless to Mexico and let the Mexican government deal with them?
1
For those folks that have lost the means to support themselves, we can only try to do better to get them back on track. But the bottom line is that it is a whole lot easier to survive on the street as a homeless person in a year 'round sunny climate than it is in Fargo, North Dakota. Naturally Los Angeles is a magnet for those unable to get beyond their homelessness.
5
I live a few blocks from Reed Park, pictured here. No, our empathy is not tested by the homeless people, and we don't fear them. It is the high net-worth playground scene that you have to steel your nerves for. Your kid may accidentally pick up some oligarch kid's sandbox toys and start an incident or a lawsuit; this is why bringing my toddler to this park tests my empathy. More to the point, homelessness is not just a "local" problem. It is an American problem, with drivers not confined to particular locations. Firstly, people from all over the country move here, contributing to the high cost of housing (and some of them may even be homeless when they come - would you rather be sleeping outdoors in Chicago or LA?) Secondly, and more importantly, many of the solutions are national - like a real mental healthcare system, or any healthcare system. I'm just not sure the photoessay format works for this story - it's too much like disaster tourism, and doesn't get into the complexities.
17
I'm all for giving people housing.
But I am not for giving them housing in the expensive cities of Washington, NY, Boston, SF, LA and Seattle. If middle class folks cannot afford to live there then there is reason for them to expect we will house them there.
No. You don't get to pick your free housing. We'll build homeless housing in states where the cost of living is dirt cheap -- Oklahoma, for example. Way upstate New York. The rural South.
At this point, I won't travel to SF. When I go to NYC, I avoid Penn Station at all costs. I left living and working in downtown Washington because there were men passed on on heroin literally on every block.
It's disturbing. It's depressing. It's going to be super expensive to fix or end.
4
Ah, the hills of Oklahoma! And with year-round gentle weather and their rich melting-pot of people and ideas I think that the homeless would just love to go there.
1
Jerry Brown spent 750 billion dollars on illegals in his state and apparently there wasn't enough for his own people in his state. Shocking.
6
I heard it was $750 trillion??
1
Why can't we send these people to Detroit? Detroit has thousands of empty tract homes and open land.. We just need a few billion dollars to re-build the place. In addition, if European nations decided to contribute they can send their immigrants to us. Detroit can be a worldwide refuge for homeless and immigrant populations. A convergence of diversity and creativity. I'm not kidding either. Detroit is the future!
7
Have the Mexicans build that wall a little farther North!
Welcome to San Francisco!
3
these people look able bodied. they could, at least wash cars. many have dreads, which makes them unemployable. cut your hair and go wash cars.
I was a liberal, before I subscribed to the NYT. I don't work 75 hrs a week so I can give away all my income.
7
Hey!
Instead of wasting your time on the beach, get out and meet some of the future destitute - yes, I'm talking about dropping by a Walmart or Sam's and saying hello to the Anti-Impeach 45 crowd. Missing teeth, baseball cap and camo-wearing, they line up at fashion forward, NRA emblem-ized cheap (for now) Chinese, Malaysian and Bangladeshi garments. you should meet them...after all, once Trump locks up all the immigrants, they'll be doing the jobs they claim to have been so unfairly excluded from - washing cars, m,owing lawns and trash collection.
You can get it all at Walmart!
5
Wonderful photography.
3
I frequently stop by my local library to catch up on newspapers and magazines. Several weeks ago I'd settled into one of their club chairs with the paper when a lanky black man calmly told me I was in his chair. He'd left some bags with his possessions behind it. I said "oh, sorry" and moved over to the chair beside it. A few minutes later I felt a gentle nudge on my arm and he offered me a cough drop. I'd seen it on the seat. This germaphobe thanked him, unwrapped the lozenge and appreciatively popped it into my mouth. Never saw him there again.
5
There is a simple reason that LA has this crisis: the tidal wave of illegals. Illegals drive up the cost of rental housing, by increasing demand. They take the low-end jobs. That 18YO-19YO couple would in years past been able to get jobs dishwashing or other low end jobs, but these are taken by illegals. Schools in CA are being destroyed by the cost of ESL and the needs to take care of far more kids than planned for. Illegals need to be booted, to allow US citizens to live in the US.
6
It isn't the illegals that are the problem. The last thing an illegal wants is to bee questioned by the police. These are true blue, red, white and blue Americans.
5
You honestly believe those able bodied 19 y/o's want to work as a dishwasher? I don't think so.
7
Dining Out-
http://members.efn.org/~hkrieger/m_diner.jpg
from the series, "Down Town",
http://members.efn.org/~hkrieger/mall.htm
In his new book “The War on Normal People”, author Andrew Yang, writing about how advances in Artificial Intelligence will eliminate many jobs in the near future, says:
““I am writing from inside the tech bubble to let you know that we are coming for your jobs.”
Things could get far worse before (if) they get better.
1
Thanks to the NYT to bring this issue to light. Seems to me that the liberal California politicians, who have had complete control of both houses and the governorship have shown the country their true contempt for the poor. The more they talk the worse the poverty gets, and yet the mostly liberal media can't bring themselves to tell the truth.
2
Right, sure, all we here who live in LA should be taking advice from those living in Malibu and can get away with charging $1100 from the City so some guy can paint. When you seriously want to start reporting on real homelessness . . . What a piece of fluff.
12
False. It is not the the rich versus the destitute rather it is the mentally competent versus the mentally dysfunctional.
3
"mentally competent versus the mentally dysfunctional":
there ya go again, making everything non-trump v. trump...thank you!
People who are homeless have often experienced severe childhood trauma that is often then self-medicated through drugs and is often accompanied by untreated mental illness.
1
This little journalistic piece doesn't even come close to covering the problem. Not even close. This problem is the reason DJT got elected. People are feed up and we are tired of hearing, "There is nothing we can do about it." Maybe if we end up with 9 Nazi's on the Supreme Court we can get something done, but until that time ...
It is an easy job being a Senator, like Karmala Harris or Chuck Schumer, or a representative like Nancy Pelosi, but it is another thing to live in this mess. And a mess it is.
12
My wife and I are Northeastern Lefties who moved to SoCal/Los Angeles a few years ago. We live in downtown LA in the Arts District, right between the LA "River" and Skid Row, two blocks to the West between us and the downtown highrises. Every day I drive through it at 6am heading to the gym. Yes, we are really conflicted about it.
Here are my takeaways:
1) California is big and beautiful. If you had to be homeless somewhere in the US, you could do a lot worse than SoCal --and we're just a bus or trainride away from wherever most of you are reading this article.
2) Moving here from Boston, LA doesn't sweep homelessness under the rug; pretend it's not an AMERICAN problem; fight homeless with disdain, jailing vagrants, or bussing; the homeless don't freeze to death in the winter; they are basically allowed to set up living space in public spots, how many American cities deny that just so smug yuppies can pretend it's just a "California problem" and not a local problem for them as well or like in these comments, just foist blame on "tech elites"??
3) It's visible here, but many people here, us included, provide regular aid in the best way we can.
If you are reading this feeling sanctimonious because you don't see homeless around you in your day to day or think your town or city has it solved, plus you gave a buck to some guy with a sign last week, you need a reality check about what's going on in this country. You are not blameless.
10
Growing homelessness is a sign of weath disparity in the US, which is growing.
I call them "Trumptowns". I hope this will catch on. I urge others to do the same. See a tent city? Refer to it as a "Trumptown."
They did this to Herbert Hoover -- ever hear of a Hooverville? https://www.history.com/topics/hoovervilles
No, we cannot blame Trump for this. America's decay in this area has been going on for over a quarter of a century. We the people have lost our war with the oligarchs, and they will soon have complete control. All they need is a bunch more cameras on every corner and to make all money electronic. Then if they don't like you they will freeze your accounts so you can't purchase anything and they'll know where you are and they will hurt you as they please.
6
This is not just a question of rich and poor and the ever increasing cost of living in a place like Los Angeles. There are myriad programs to help people that want help. I venture that the vast majority of the hardcore homeless have mental health and/or substance abuse issues. I am all for providing the opportunity to move from a bad situation to a good one. How do law-abiding residents deal with the crazies and the addicts that seem to inhabit large swaths of the homeless population?
Is it beneficial (to the individual or to society) to force mental health and substance abuse treatment on the unwilling? If not, how do we deal with the result? That really is the hard part of all this.
16
The photos in this article are amazing. What they reinforce to me is what lurks underneath this problem. The subjects of these photos biggest problem is not "homelessness", it is the drugs they are addicted to and/or their mental illness. This issue will not begin to be solved until we call it by its name. I walked by a camper on a street in downtown San Francisco last week--he was inside a backpacking tent, screaming at the top of his lungs. I walked by half an hour later--still screaming. This is not "homelessness", a word which suggests that merely providing them a home would solve the problem. These are people who cannot take care of themselves, and require us to look once again at involuntary institutionalization.
20
There is not a homeless problem. There is a homeless accommodation problem. And mismanagement of same. Homeless is the new scam industry to keep city employees/agencies busy and justify the jobs of the people that work there.
Santa Monica calls them "homeless residents" now - is that not an oxymoron by definition?
Even the parody animation South Park recognized this scam in an iconic episode years ago.
Santa Monica is paying their Homeless Director $150K+yr. Her only credential - a self chosen degree from a for profit diploma mill AND she got canned by the city of LA prior! At the last homeless steering committee meeting they reminded everyone of the $5M budget that everyone could access.
6
The biggest factor contributing to the reticents of the general population to embrace or even tolerate homeless people is getting killed by them, an event frequently caused by the homeless, here and elsewhere. The real story here is that the crazy dangerous are now woven into the general homeless population to the detriment of all. And that is because the state mental hospitals were essentially defended during the Reagan administration. You could see this wave of mentally ill people suddenly on the streets in L.A. starting in about 1982. The 1st gen. was harmless but helpless, sleeping anywhere and eating out of garbage cans. Now we have a dangerous, small percentage of homeless people who terrorize other homeless as well as the general population. Drugs and high rent are only part of the story. The really crazy people were not on the streets in large numbers before Reagan. His closing most of the state hospitals and defunding mental health clinics is a story that should be told because it is a huge contributing factor as to how we got here and why we are so afraid.
14
I agree with what you are saying about the link between the closure of mental hospitals and the problem we have now, but it does go a lot deeper than Reagan. I am no fan of Ronnie, but it was mainly the ACLU's endless lawsuits against involuntary hospitalization that led to California's LPS act, which was passed by the Democratic legislature and then signed by Reagan into law. Remember "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest"? It was a societal movement that led to the closures--now we should realize our mistake and walk it back.
15
Yes, totally, regrettably true also. And no one made any effort to walk that error back. Now the jails are the mental hospitals.
3
I live in Los Angeles, and my neighborhood (Silver Lake) is becoming innundated with drunks, drug dealers, and the mentally ill. Like most Angelenos, I'm compassionate about someone's misfortune, but I resent hordes of people living in tents, leaving their filth strewn everywhere, stealing from homeowners, and assaulting residents. Just look at the comments in the Nextdoor app if you want the full exegesis on the debate. Homeowners are being blamed and shamed for something NOT of their making. This problem is the direct result of the way LA manages its housing issues. Developers are required to provide parking, among other things, and spend a LOT of money to create "affordable" units. They won't do it unless it's profitable. The city, state, and feds will have to build them--but they won't. I've lost my sympathy for most of the homeless, because they aren't the innocent victims you like the portray them to be.
21
@Ellen - I agree with you. My brother, who lives in downtown San Jose, had a small tent city full of homeless people about 50 feet from his apartment building for 6 months. He almost went crazy with the noise, including blaring radios, drugs & alcohol, their barking dogs, etc. He would go over and ask them to politely keep the noise down and they would laugh in his face. He confronted them politely on multiple occasions until one guy got sick of it and almost hit my brother. Many of them don't know how to live peacefully and they don't care how they're impacting others. (This is not all homeless, but it's a lot.) Eventually, the city disbanded the camp and my brother was able to go back to living in peace.
Liberals are compassionate when it comes to the homeless until they have to live next to them. I live in Sacramento and it's the same thing (not nearly as bad as LA, but it's bad). I don't know what the answer is, but most of the homeless aren't the angels they're portrayed to be in this article.
1
This romantically idealized portrayal of homelessness in no way speaks to the true plight of the Los Angeles homeless. There are major shantytowns in the downtown arts/warehouse district. Massive piles of garbage next to ramshackle dwellings made from tarpaulins and pallets. People burning plastic appliances to gather whatever precious metals might be inside and to cook. This is easy to see anywhere there is shelter under the Interstate 10 overpass running through downtown LA. Ironically the biggest encampment surrounds the LA Times print shop. Start at Lemon and Olympic and follow Lemon St around the plant until it turns into 8th. If a community is best judged by how well it treats its weakest then Los Angeles is a sorry place.
12
The U.S. Census Bureau now publishes an annual poverty report titled the Supplemental Poverty Measure that takes regional cost of living into account. The report is changing perceptions regarding which states are rich and which are poor. The most recent report shows that California is by far the poorest state, with 20.4 percent of its residents below poverty level. The poverty rate in often maligned Mississippi is 16.9. The national average is 14.7
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo...
3
I was surprised and a bit bothered by the "precious" depiction of homelessness suggested by this photo-essay. The homeless subjects depicted seem more like Abercrombie and Fitch models than those who I see every day in West Hollywood and Skid Row. I am wondering of the motivation of trekking out to Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades instead of the ample examples of homelessness in Los Angeles and West Hollywood. I applaud the efforts of Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and the Palisades to address the homeless crisis humanely, but wonder if this particular depiction is "idealized." The issue of "them" vs. "one of us" is important to address. But this photo-essay seems to avoid how homelessness intersects with the public's fear of mental illness, racism, and fear of those struggling with addiction. By no means should any person be defined by their disadvatange, but something seemed a bit "sanitized." The essay did not represent what I see every day, but a version of homelessness that seems more palatable for those farther removed from seeing its reality every day.
18
Publicize your community as one that is welcoming to the homeless population, and homeless people will come. That, combined with a decent climate.
I frequently help serve the homeless population in our city. If you've actually done that (rather than just talked about it), you'd understand that a significant majority prefer to remain homeless but need help with food (not leftover bakery stuff from the grocery stores), toiletries, medical care, and some would appreciate access to a shower. It's such a complicated problem because of the mental health problems.
5
With luck, the richer amongst us will learn to see homeless people as, well, people. In my neighborhood, a church decided to host a tent city for a month. A restaurant owner across the street publicly objected, citing concerns for his customers' safety, and fears that the encampment would discourage business. The church went ahead and did it anyway. By the end of the month, the restaurant owner had come around to the point where on the encampment's last day, he closed his restaurant to the public and served a meal to all of the encampment's residents.
7
So you pitched a tent for a month and then took it down?
3
The building I had moved to had a fire , that night all I had with me were the clothes on my back and my wallet and phone . Fortunately , the building put those of us affected in a hotel til they could relocate us to other apartments . For eight days I felt homeless in spite of the fact that I had a roof over my head . I cannot even begin to image what the homeless feel , my little foray was enough to freak me out , but theirs is a semi or permanent situation . Yes , cities and their citizens need to help , there is no excuse for this to exist here ; give them help and afford them the dignity due to them as less fortunate human beings .
12
Decades ago, I boarded a domestic flight in India from the airport in Bangalore. This was before Bangalore became a globally known IT hub. Taxying down the runway, what did I see? An endless shantytown of destitute people living in corrugated tin roof shacks. Apparently they had set up camp on unoccupied land near the airport. They were so close to the runway that you could see their faces from the window of an airplane while taking off.
I fear this is the future of all of America's major cities, not just Los Angeles. Housing for non-poor but also non-rich people is unaffordable in dozens of American cities. Los Angeles itself is now known by some as the "City of Shanties."
20
This has been coming for quite some time. When I hear people use the expression "first world problems," I ask if they are referring to certain countries in Europe. In my view, having lived in a third world country as a kid and visited many others as both a kid and an adult, LA has been a third world city for a long time, and other cities, including my own, are following close behind. You can't be a country in which the divisions are so stark -- in politics, in wealth, in health, etc. -- and still call yourself first world.
36
George Carlin was right years ago.
We have lots of land and resources.
No need for shantytowns in cities when we have Kansas.
There's lots of room there. Build a wall around it and throw them all in! Along with the guns - take the guns away and throw them over the wall - it will all work out!
1
Portland and Seattle have tent communities (tarps, not real tents) in different places throughout the city.
1
my husband and i lived in venice beach for ten years and after our daughter was born, we stayed for two years. the homeless was as much part of venice beach as the board walk, and our daughter even in her young age was exposed to the homeless population. we had a homeless man who would use our outdoor laundry and our daughter would say hello. my husband was always present so there was no fear, and that's what we wanted to teach our daughter, was not to fear the "other". we moved to the suburb for job relocation, and when we tried to plan play dates at the local park, other families did not want to join because that's where the homeless lived. our daughter did not fear the homeless but her friends and their parents did. we explained to our children how people become homeless and how they may need professional help. but what's troubling is the judgement and fear that often affluent communities create...these are the same communities that could probably make the biggest difference in helping the homeless because of their access to resources, influence, and voting.
18
"City officials recently urged residents to make 'casual eye contact' with the homeless and say hello, or at least smile."
This is probably related to what used to be called "slumming," which described visiting low-income areas, or slums, to look at the poor, for curiosity and for "downward social comparison." In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, slumming was a pastime for some of the idle rich to go on a jaunt to see how "the other half" (the lower class) lived.
4
Los Angeles might consider abolishing its police force so that the wealthy and homeless would be allowed many more opportunities for interaction and constructive dialogue.
8
The answer to the homeless program is to give them homes. In New York City, we are giving the homeless places right next to the where the Rich live. We are spending $100,000 a year to rent small hotel rooms for the homeless that house 2 people just to be near billionaires between Park Avenue South and 57th Street. 20% of new luxury apartment buildings usually have lower income people living in it. If you are a resourceful low income person in New York who knows how to work the system, you can live next door to the wealthy. And, that is exactly how it should be.
1
Oh, for goodness’ sake - rich and poor encounter each other all the tie and everywhere. Just because rich ignore poor does not mean they are not seen - just not registered on the mind as anything important.
1
"Not in my backyard" that is the motto of neighborhoods that always block the homeless shelters. They are not OK with the homeless living under a roof, with a bed and access to a shower, but are 100% with them living in total squalor on the neighborhood sidewalks. Go figure.
12
In the title of this article, "In Los Angeles, Where the Rich and the Destitute Cross Paths," substitute the name of any major US city and you can write essentially the same article.
The extent of the problem in California, which has had a large budget surplus and a socialist governor, suggests that solving the homeless problem in the big cities of other, less "woke" states will not be easy.
5
It has never been prioritized in CA - same issue in San Francisco, worse in some ways. My son lives in the very nice Pico-Robertson neighborhood (Beverly Hills "adjacent") in LA and there are homeless people wandering the streets two blocks from his 1M home. This issue is not that California is more "woke" than other state - it's that California is too woke to pay attention to real problems. Perhaps all the money going toward lawsuits against the Trump administration and the legal fund for illegal immigrants ought to be used to help address the issue of homelessness in California. and as for the budget surplus? It can't even begin to offset the deficit in funding public worker pensions.
1
Other metros in California are grappling with this as well. San Francisco, for all its extreme wealth, has a massive problem with homelessness (and often associated drug use). Get off public transit in the heart of the city, the Civic Center, and see homeless people with nowhere else to go and nothing else to do, openly injecting themselves with drugs.
Sacramento has a major problem that has been highlighted on national TV shows in the past. It's often hidden by the fact that the homeless camp in the woods along the American River Parkway (former jewel of the county where many people are now afraid to go following attacks by dogs and criminals amongst the homeless population). The lack of public bathrooms for those with nowhere else to go is a major public health hazard. The city is discussing opening up restroom facilities downtown to which business representatives say they are "concerned." The affluent neighborhood NIMBYs have avoided having shelters placed in their neighborhoods while the city creates "temporary"/permanent shelters in less affluent neighborhoods. Meanwhile, thousands of people still need places to sleep and use the restroom.
13
Gosh, I though, per the conventional wisdom, that such things could not happen in a state that loudly boasts of its enlightenment and fairness and all the rest. Wealth inequality in some of the areas examined - or to the north in the Bay Area - are probably the worst in the United States, yet they sneer scornfully at the rest of the country.
Regardless, homelessness is a complex issue. As can be seen from the pictures it's also not easy to characterize in one pat description. Some mental illness, some substance abuse issues, perhaps even some plain old fashioned laziness (the 19-year old couple reminds me of the old image of hippies who just don't want to be "constrained' by those awful societal norms of working for a living). California, and in particular its too largest metro areas, need to take a serious look at what it is doing to deal with, or even prevent, the growing issue.
22
Many of the homeless are constrained by mental illness, and many of the images speak to that point.
10
Agree with you Blair. How about we fully fund and fully staff all mental health treatment in this country-free psychotropic meds and free counseling. Lower the geographical and financial barriers to receive this care. Provide free to sliding-scale supported housing for those with mental illness, where counselors and social workers can be present on site. Sounds expensive? Trust me, we are already paying the price in our country anyway, but at the wrong end--it's happening in the emergency rooms and jails.
1
Agreed, Blair...which is I specifically mentioned it first.
1
This is what happens when your own state government refuses to crack down on cities which refuse to address the homeless problem. California is reaping what it has sown, and the problem will only worsen as the politicians in Sacarmento continue to promote expansion of sanctuary cities and social welfare programs. Even socialism runs out of taxpayer money to spend sooner or later.
20
Homelessness is a symptom of overpopulation.
The US population has increased by 36% since we passed the Immigration Reform Act of 1986 which was supposed to end illegal immigration.
It is estimated that there are 11 million illegal immigrants. But illegal immigrants have children who are automatic US citizens, and those children sponsor the entry of other family members.
We need to have a two-pronged approach to dealing with overpopulation:
First, we need access to family planning and abortion, as well as incentives for smaller family size.
Second we need an end to illegal immigration. That should be coupled with efforts to help Latin American countries achieve zero population growth.
Thus we should be helping Guatemala, for example, in its family planning efforts.
The homelessness we see in LA is just the first stage of a disease that afflicts much of the third world.
Katherine Boo describes life in the slums of Mumbai in her excellent book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers.
I have been to India and have seen the despair in people's eyes. We need to plan for a brighter future for the US. One in which we recognize that there are limits to resources, hence limits to growth.
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Homelessness is a symptom of a culture eaten up with greed.
2
I completely agree with you but with the Catholic Church and the American theocracy, you will never ever get approval for widespread contraception.
The 2 major religion are obsessed with what adults do with their private parts.
All religions needs to be wiped off the face of the earth if mankind has any hope of getting out of the 21st century. It is the bane of human existence at this point.
2
The tech elites spend every waking hour obsessed with money, productivity, utility, efficiency, networking, etc., and unblinkingly walk by fellow human beings asking for a dime. Let it be known: the tech revolution, which is mostly one of computer software, does not create jobs for the masses like the industrial revolution did, rather, it leads to mass unemployment and greater fortunes for a fortunate few. The tech elites are greedier and more misanthropic than the robber barons of old. San Francisco is lucky that it's homeless are, by and large, non-violent. If the masses of the homeless started dishing out the same disdain, frustration and anger which they receive from many residents of San Francisco on a daily basis, watch out, because that there would be a violent revolution which would necessitate the National Guard to maintain order. The masses of homeless in San Francisco are a harbinger of a future revolution against the tech elites in America, whether non-violent or violent, which will re-define America in ways impossible to fathom.
16
Maybe Tom Steyer can be persuaded to direct his money to helping people instead of trying to impeach Donald Trump. Not only is it not realistic to think that will happen - it is a vanity project like so many others from our tech elite.
2
Nice to see my old hometown of Pacific Palisades is given a positive write-up for the humane treatment of the homeless in their community. Needless to say, I was priced out of the Palisades housing market many, many years ago.
17
There is no such thing any longer ... what you'd like to hear is humane treatment for the residents of Pacific Palisade that have to live with this problem. The problem is a lot worse than what is outlined here.
1
The Palisades raised $750k to send all their homeless to Venice. The Palisades are the ultimate NIMBY's: no facilities in their community to help the homeless, just raise loads of cash to ship them next door. This entire piece is so poorly presented with little understanding of what it means to live with pyromaniacs on your doorstep, psychotic homeless men swinging machetes in broad daylight in the street, and politicians who are blatantly paid off by developers and use the homeless as their pawns. Disgusting.
4
The situation is EXACTLY the same in Seattle, and has been for the 31 years I have lived here, with noticeable worsening over those years. Seattle recently passed a law that taxed the wealthy to help fund homelessness programs ... they were promptly put in their place by the likes of Amazon, who didn't want to pay no stinkin' extra tax. So much for that idea ... Seattle backed down in one hot hurry. The new mayor said something like, "We're going to keep on looking for a progressive way to solve these problems." Well, dear Mayor, you had the most progressive way, and you crumbled the moment the big boys whined. Good job.
14
Actually Amazon should have taken over the problem. They didn't pay billions of dollars in state and local taxes for 30 years and now they should apply their genius and dollars and see if they can solve the problem.
1
This is a dishonest misrepresentation of the facts. The Mayor acted not because she was caving in to "the big boys," but rather because 60% of Seattle residents opposed the tax. The City Council has continually declared that we have homeless emergencies, and they keep raising taxes, only to tell us when they spend all the revenue that there is another homeless emergency that's even worse. The city has a terrible track record on how it spends its tax money. Seattle voters have been very generous with their tax money, proving time and again that they'll support levies for schools, housing, parks and transportation. But there's no real opposition party in Seattle, so the Democratic City Council does not need to provide any careful oversight. Everybody, even generous liberals, get to a point where they want their money spent with some accountability before they will approve new taxes.
2
Amazon didn't "owe" sales taxes, the people who bought the products were possibly required to pay a "use tax" like in in California on items they bought online or by mail order if the vendor didn't collect the tax. And, at the time, Amazon was not required to collect the tax. As soon as, and in some cases before the tax laws were changed, or before Amazon had a local presence, Amazon began collecting sales tax as required.