Los Angeles used to be known as the city of angels should really be changed to the city of homeless.
Recently, Mayor Eric Garcetti declared Los Angeles a state of emergency due to the 12 percent increase in homeless people in the city with Los Angeles being able to control the growing homeless population.
According to a report by THR, the number of homeless people in Los Angeles is skyrocketing. Last month, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti declared a state of emergency, to allow for wet-weather shelters to be opened to the homeless.
Where we are is in dire and uncharted waters, with a record 46,000 homeless in the city, a 12 percent increase in the past two years — victims of the recession and soaring rents amid a real estate boom that has raised L.A. home prices by 27 percent in just three years.
Another factor is the passage of Proposition 47.
Three groups in particular have swelled the ranks, Garcetti says: veterans, many with mental health issues; emancipated foster youth; and nonviolent offenders released from prison after the 2014 passage of Proposition 47 reduced penalties for some drug crimes.
Another issue is that downtown Los Angeles, Skid Row, which has 70 percent of the homeless population, is moving out of the downtown areas into the upperclass neighborhoods.
Many are migrating out of areas like downtown’s Skid Row — where up to 70 percent of the homeless are addicted to meth and other hard drugs, notes Garcetti — and into the shadows of some of the city’s most expensive enclaves.
But the biggest problem is that there are thousands of hidden homeless people living in parks, cars, vans, and parking lots.
L.A.’s City Council District 11, which encompasses Westside neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Mar Vista, now has one of the largest homeless populations in the city — nearly 1,500, according to one recent count. Scores more “hidden homeless” live in backyards, vehicles and hillside encampments.
The mayor of Los Angeles plans to spend $100 million to help fix the growing problem. The funding will provide housing vouchers which can be used to pay rent in any apartment in Los Angeles, as long as the renter can find a landlord willing to accept the voucher.
This news comes as California earned over a billion dollars from their film tax credit program. However, as the city promises to increase minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour, many businesses are planning on cutting the number of employees or shifting to computers to make up for the higher business expenses. Therefore, pushing more people out on the street.
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What do you think of Los Angeles’ homeless problem? Do you think the city can fix the issue? Do you think this will have an impact on the film industry? Share with us your thoughts in the comments below!
