Vanessa Guillermo

Jaya Dubey
Writing 39C: Research and Argument
13 April !1"
#omelessness in $os Angeles: #omeless is not a Crime
%en and &omen dirt ridden' bare(ooted and &earing nothing but tattered clothing is a
common sight all throughout the city o( $os Angeles) *ituated on top o( torn pieces o( card board
or public benches' these men and &omen' +arying (rom young' old' blac, or &hite' ma,e a home
out o( $os Angeles-s cold hard streets) #ea+ily concentrated speci(ically in an area ,no&n as
*,id Ro& are hundreds o( people su((ering beneath the po+erty threshold &ith ma.ority' i( not
all' lac,ing a permanent place to li+e) According to /igure 1' *,id Ro& is bounded by %ain'
Almeda' 0hird and *e+enth *treets' homelessness is a social (ailure' rather a human calamity'
that is 1uic,ly one the rise) 2ecause o( a lac, o( a((ordable housing and high unemployment rate'
the numbers o( men and &omen ta,ing residence on the streets are increasing) %ore and more
people are inhabiting public (acilities' hence' introducing a sudden concern in the city o((icial-s
(or the city-s &el(are) 2ecause o( *,id Ro&-s large homeless population' neighboring businesses
ha+e increased their e((orts in maintaining the sa(ety and business o( their city' and ha+e thus
ha+e ta,en many actions that ha+e posed many disad+antages (or the homeless in $os Angeles)
3n response to reduce the homeless population in $A' police' local businesses and the *a(er
Cities 3nitiati+e ha+e en(orced la&s that criminali4e the homeless in a &ay that conse1uently
increases the economic toll o( incarceration (or ta5 payers' the danger o( other serious crimes
originally neglected due to o+er criminali4ation and the social gap bet&een the the rich and the
poor through prolongment)
*,id Ro&' ,no&n as 6homeless capital o( the nation7' is situated at the heart o( $os
Angeles- 3ndustrial District 8Ja((e9) 3t e5tends more than (i(ty bloc,s and is home to roughly (orty
thousand people e+ery night) Amongst that +ast number o( homelessness are drug addicts'
prostitutes and mentally ill patients' those o( &hich occupy the city-s most re+ered landmar,s)
#o&e+er unli,e other do&n ridden cities' *,id Ro& &as al&ays a +ictim o( po+erty and had
ne+er reached a moment &here it thri+ed) 2ecause $os Angeles &as located right o(( the
railroad' it &as the 6congregating spot (or hobos' aimless riders' transient &or,ers and people
running a&ay (rom past li+es78What is *,id Ro&:9) Due to the direct transportation o(
indi+iduals' many (acilities and social ser+ices and opportunities (or labor' particularly
agricultural &or,' &ere established to speci(ically support the homeless and transient 8*pi+a,9)
/rom the 1;!!s' *,id Ro& began to permanently operate as a sa(ety net (or immigrants (rom
surrounding counties 8What is *,id Ro&:9) With time' the increase in the (lo& o( people into the
particular area lead to an ine+itable decrease in the su((iciency o( labor and land (or housing)
0hus' crumbling employment opportunities and housing costs yielded (urther concentration o(
the homeless into $os Angeles area' there(ore resulting into neighboring businesses and
go+ernment regulation to ta,e (urther action 8Reese' De+erteuil' 0hach9)
#omelessness essentially continues to persist so hea+ily in the $os Angeles area because
o( the economy-s 6eroding &or, opportunities7 8Why Are <eople #omeless:9) Due to
the &orsening economy' the a+erage annual income has decreased and the 1uantity o( .obs &ith
ade1uate bene(its ha+e diminished) According to 3nternational $abor =rgani4ation' &ages ha+e
signi(icantly decreased o+er the past si5 months due to many (actors regarding the depreciation
o( unioni4ed &or,ers' minimum &age and limited access to manu(acturing labor 8Why Are
<eople #omeless9) Conse1uently' the only class that seems to be particularly e((ected by this
decline are lo& income &or,ers) 2ased on the >ational $o& 3ncome #ousing Coalition' as one
o( the oldest supporting homelessness organi4ation' 6 in the median state a minimum? &age
&or,er &ould ha+e to &or, ;@ hours each &ee, to a((ord a t&o? bedroom apartment at 3! A o(
his or her income' &hich is the (ederal de(inition o( a((ordable housing7 8Bmployment and
#omelessness9) 0his pro+es that the minimum &age salary earned alone is not enough to a((ord a
one to t&o bedroom rental apartment and more than one income is needed to sustain a home) 3n
comparison' nearly "! A o( households li+e in contrast to the de(inition o( a((ordable housing'
&here C! A o( &or,ers- salaries are allocated to rent and housing costs) 0his leads to a direct
reduction in (unds to&ard other essential needs such as healthcare and (ood 8Why Are <eople
#omeless:9)
0hrough the de(inition o( a((ordable housing' it is clear and e+ident that housing cost is a
direct (actor to&ard the crisis o( homelessness) According to Rachel 2ostic' director o( D*C-s
2edrosian Center on Go+ernance' and 0ony *ala4ar' director o( West Coast =perations' both
(rom $A times ne&spaper' o+er E! percent o( $os Angeles rent their homes) Due this high (igure'
there &as an automatic increase in demand (or housing) 6 =nly 3@ units F&ould beG a+ailable and
a((ordable (or e+ery 1!! &ould? be renters Fthat &ould li+eG at the a+erage renter income le+el7
82ostic'*ala4ar9) With the demand (or a((ordable housing e5ceeding the county-s supply' rental
rates ha+e risen nearly 3! A o+er the past t&o decades 82ostic' *ala4ar9) 3n addition' according
to the >ational $o& 3ncome #ousing Coalition' lo& income salaries ha+e also declined
concurrently &ith the increase o( housing costs e+er since !!9) 0his crisis and shortage o(
a((ordable housing' once again' directly targets lo& income renters) 2ecause minimum &age
&or,ers cannot a((ord housing &ith their lo& income' a ris, o( homelessness is placed on all o(
those &ho cannot a((ord the highly priced a+ailable housing on the mar,et)
With both eroding employment opportunities and high housing rates contributing to the
o+erall crisis' the homeless population in *,id Ro& continues to gro&) With many resources
already limited' $os Angeles particularly attracts a large homeless population) 2ecause the
homeless are a&are o( these (acilities and ,no& that they &ere established in *,id Ro& to
directly cater to those &ho are in need' homeless indi+iduals &ill continue to naturally gra+itate
to this area no& as &ell as in the near and distant (uture) 2ecause local (acilities &ere not able to
sustain the rapid gro&ing homeless population' +ictims o( homelessness began to spread into the
streets o( central business districts) 0his directly inter(ered &ith the in+estments o( small local
businesses) 2ecause o( this' surrounding businesses +igorously began to see, &ays to reduce this
inter(erence' one o( &hich &as deconcentration through direct police action and criminali4ation
o( *,id Ro& 8Reese' De+erteuil' 0hach9)
=+er the past 1! years' the city o( $os Angeles ha+e increased their e((orts in
criminali4ing the homeless in order to maintain and regulate their city-s use o( public space and
industrial gro&th) B((orts into this strategy &ere spearheaded by $A<D la& en(orcement through
a program ,no&n as the *a(er Cities 3nitiati+e 8*C39 in *eptember o( !!C to reduce the crime
rate on *,id Ro& 82lasi9) According to Gary 2lasi' president o( the >ational Coalition (or
#omelessness' nearly C! policemen &ere assigned to *,id Ro& to dismantle 6 homeless
encampments' FissueG citations' and Fma,eG arrests (or +arious o((enses7 82lasi9) %any
ordinances (iling against common necessary (or sur+i+al acts among the homeless ha+e been
en(orced such as begging' panhandling' urinating' de(ecating and sleeping in public 82ro&n9)
/rom !!E?!!@ alone in a population o( 1!'!!!' more than 1!'3" citations &ere issued &ith
C'!@! (iling under (elony arrests 8Reese' DeVertueil' 0hach9) All these o((enses &ere aimed to
pre+ent loitering and to o((er a sa(er li(e style (or surrounding businesses and neighborhoods)
#o&e+er as la& en(orcement (ail to recogni4e the contradicting e((ects that this method entails'
the city is 6Fen(orcingG these criminal la&s as H1uic, (i5- solutions to remo+e homeless people
(rom sight7 82ro&n9) Dnbe,no&nst to the public' the *C3 because o( this' poses e+en greater
disad+antages on society economically and socially) 0hese e((ects include the economic burden
o( incarceration on ta5payers' neglect o( other serious crimes and the &idening social gap
bet&een the rich and poor due to prolongment o( homelessness)
Dpon criminali4ing the homeless in *,id Ro&' society is unde+iatingly (ronted &ith a
great economic toll to incarcerate) According to the >ational Coalition (or the #omeless' 6 as the
country (ails to pro+ide money (or housing' and as essential (unds are cut (orm social ser+ices'
the amount o( money spent to .ail people (or H1uality o( li(eH crime increases7 83llegal to be
#omeless9) 2ased on t&o year research study (rom a Dni+ersity o( 0e5as' the amount o( money
ta5payers &ould ha+e to pay' annually' is appro5imately 61"'";! dollars per year (or o+ernight
.ail 8Cost o( #omelessness9) 3n addition' the cost o( single bed in prison (or a period o( merely
one year e5ceeds I!'!!!) 3n comparison to I1"! needed to incarcerate' the bare minimum o(
thirty dollars (or necessary housing' (ood and other daily needs' is more cost e((ecti+e in dealing
&ith the homeless 83llegal to be #omeless9) /igure " also ma,es mention o( the costs o(
incarceration and the cost o( pro+iding housing) %oreo+er' based on research (rom a Dni+ersity
o( Cali(ornia' the go+ernment &as consuming o+er E million dollars in (unds in sending the C!
o((icers to *,id Ro& a year 8Gorman9) 2ecause more money is being e5erted into criminali4ing
the homeless' municipalities and ta5 payers are le(t to pay (or their costly imprisonment)0hrough
this' the cost o( homeless containment through criminali4ation has been pro+en to e5ceed the
means o( &hat our current society can economically handle)
With so much money and attention (ocused on criminali4ing and incarcerating the
homeless' 0he *a(er City 3nitiati+e ha+e de(lected a lot o( attention a&ay (rom other serious
crimes) Due to la& en(orcement-s e((orts to deter super(icial acti+ities necessary (or homeless
people to sur+i+e' 6+aluable resources are di+erted a&ay (rom (ighting dangerous crime7 include
more than (i(ty policemen yearly 8Criminali4ing Crisis: Criminali4ation o( the #omelessness in
D)*) Cities9) 2ecause o( this' resources are being &asted on minute crimes' such as sleeping in
public and loitering' instead o( those that actually pose a ris, to the county-s sa(ety) 3n addition'
to (urther emphasi4e the &aste in e((orts o( la& en(orcement' *hannon <aulson' a $A<D
$ieutenant and head o((icer o( 0he *a(er City 3nitiati+e' mentioned that the *C3 has (allen short
(rom its goal to deconcentrate due increasing .ail budget cuts) 0his concludes that as
o+ercro&ding o( homeless inmates is the cause (or budget cuts' prisons ha+e resulted to
appro+ing early release date (or its prisoners) With the increase in number o( crimes unattended
to' $os Angeles is (urthermore'prone and more susceptible to danger' and at a greater e5tent'
e5posed to danger (ar greater than the innocent acts committed by the homeless 8Criminali4ing
Crisis: Criminali4ation o( the #omelessness in D)*) Cities9)
0he increased e((orts to containment through criminali4ation not only poses an economic
disad+antage on municipalities and localities but also &idens the social gap bet&een the rich and
poor) 0he constant criminali4ation and incarceration o( the homeless because o( necessary to
sur+i+al day to day actions such as sleeping and begging in public' automatically places a (alse
connection bet&een criminals and homeless) 0his preconcei+ed relationship results in an
increase in 6discrimination7 to&ards the homeless by (ear' that o( &hich &as 6legitimi4ed by
criminali4ation7 83llegal to be #omeless9) 0his &idens the social gap bet&een the homeless and
non homeless in the sense that ma.ority o( the trust and reliability on the homeless has
diminished) 2ecause o( this mistrust' employers are o(ten times hesitant to hire the homeless as
employees due to their recent criminal records and (ear o( them being a 6slac,er7 83llegal to be
#omeless9) 0his directly inter(eres &ith the homeless- ability to (ind a .ob and' in turn' (ind a
home) 0he idea demorali4es the homeless o( any opportunities o( escaping homelessness and
&or,s to (asten their standing at the bottom o( the (ood chain' thus creating a ne+er ending
condescending +ie& (rom society 80he Criminali4ation o( the <oor9)
/or years' diminishing &or, opportunities and bene(its' as &ell as high housing costs
ha+e stipulated a high demand (or cheap housing in $os Angeles) Dn(ortunately' the demand (or
cheap housing e5ceeded the original supply a+ailable and' as a result' le(t many lo& income
&or,ers (ending (or themsel+es &ithout a home) As the rate o( homeless in 1uic,ly began to
increase' the numbers o( indi+iduals ta,ing residence on the streets o( $os Angeles began to
signi(icantly sprout as &ell) As the population began to inter(ere &ith the (unctionalism o(
surrounding businesses' $)A) la& en(orcement and many local businesses ha+e e5erted many
e((orts to attempt to deconcentrate the homeless population in *,id Ro&) 0he primary method
used &as the criminali4ation o( the homeless through the *a(er City 3nitiati+e' &hich has been
pro+en to produce contradicting e((ects against their original goal economically and socially)
Although' policies o( criminali4ation seem to reap more detrimental e((ects on society than
bene(its' there are in (act' many di((erent approaches that could pro+ide a permanent solution to
deconcentrate the population o( homelessness in $os Angeles) As long society publici4es the
issue and open it out to the public' there is still hope in greatly reducing the homeless population
in *,id Ro&' &hile still being able to pro+ide +ictims o( homelessness the supporti+e help they
need to get bac, on their (eet)