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| High-cost US Cities See Homeless Population Grow |
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The signs of homelessness are everywhere
in Los Angeles.
It is a life
Destiny Prescott knows too well.
"So, I was sleeping in a car,
sleeping at the beach."
"We are seeing, you know, an increase in homelessness
at an accelerating rate
in Los Angeles."
Advocates say
one of the main causes of homelessness is a tight supply of rental housing
in areas where the poverty rate is already high.
"As the economy picks up steam,
more spending power comes into the rental market,
and a lot of it goes out again
as rent increases.
So, rents are moving up $100, $200.
No one’s income is keeping pace with that."
"The rich are getting richer
and the middle class is slowly disappearing."
Venice, a beach community in Los Angeles,
is a place
where homeless encampments and multimillion-dollar homes live side-by-side.
"Residents find homeless people in the backyards.
The city needs to do more
to serve the homeless
that are vulnerable.
They need to do more
to serve the residents
that are making investment."
One approach
adopted by Los Angeles and around the country
is the Housing First model,
where a homeless person is put into permanent housing
without requirements
such as attending parenting classes
or being free of addiction.
"The human mind needs to have a home,
a safe space,
and so whatever it takes
we should be developing innovative approaches
to creating those safe spaces
that people control."
"And you know, you put them in housing
and then you wrap around cares.
So, you have home visits
and case management
and health care and mental health care."
Destiny Prescott and her daughter found help
at a housing program
called PATH Gramercy.
"We’re in our own space.
We get to lock our door.
We have our key.
It just feels nice."
It’s the kind of solution
Los Angeles hopes
expand on,
building new housing
and turning existing buildings into permanent housing
for the homeless.
Elizabeth Lee, VOA News, Los Angeles
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