Maegan Villarreal

Mr. Munoz
English 1301 DC
28 October 2014
Annotated Bibliography
"As Downtown LA Grows, So Does Urgency To Fix Skid Row." WBAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 29
Oct. 2014.
This article presented information on a community called Skid Row in Los Angeles. This
community is home to more than a thousand homeless people. More than 50 blocks cover the
community. Within these blocks are thousands of homeless.The police department has been
cracking down more on the people living there. The way this criminalization for loitering is
being addressed is very controversial. The situation has been brought up into a bigger
circumstance since more people are populating Los Angeles, forcing movement to the downtown
area where Skid Row is located. For decades, the Union Rescue Mission has been working on
improving Skid Row. This Mission provides shelter for more than 800 people. Since the
recession, the owner of the facility says hospitals have been dumping homeless patients off in the
area illegally. Another effort created to help end the program are the Star Apartments. This is a
form of permanent supportive housing. The country, although behind on its goal on creating
10,000 units of permanent supportive housing, is making an attempt to get ahead. The article also
presented statistics on how many people overcome homelessness due to the housing.
The prime example of how the government is helping the homeless situation today
helped in my research. 80 percent of the homeless that go through permanent housing overcome
homelessness. This proves that with more government spending on the homeless, the situation
can improve. The example of the recession compared to the number of homeless after served in
proving the government has partial cause in the epidemic. The article was helpful in providing
information about a well-known area in an over populated city.
"Health-Wise, Homeless Americans Are Living in the 18th Century." Vocativ. N.p., n.d.
Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
This article is about the health issues of the homeless. It expressed that the homeless are
more susceptible to tuberculosis by rates 40 times higher than the public. The homeless are also
more likely to experience death prematurely as well as depression. These rates remain the same
even in attempts to increase the services for the homeless. the article mentioned that the
homeless visit the hospital more than the average citizen. They often require extreme medical
needs that result in use of the emergency rooms. This is the most expensive kind of care. With
this kind of care, tax payers are forced to give millions of dollars to compensate. it also
addressed that measures such as wellness programs and social policies should change so that the
cause can stop itself. More housing, job opportunities and health care programs should be
provided.
This article was helpful to me because it gave an example of how the homeless effect
those who are not. This was shown through the example of paying the homeless' medical bills
through tax dollars. Although ideas how to solve the issue of homelessness were given, there
were no specific examples of what the government is actually doing. The illness rates were also
helpful in my research. The article explained how morally and economically smart it would be
for our country to help the homeless.

"HomeAid." HomeAid. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

This article contained information over the causes of homelessness and the seriousness
over the issue. The leading cause of homelessness is poverty itself. This is the spark that causes
homelessness in itself. As many as 3.5 million people are homeless each year. More than one
million of those people are homeless. Homelessness is caused by traumatic life experiences such
as poverty, divorce, and job loss. The total income of a family as well as divorce costs can cause
subjects to be homeless. Natural disasters can also arouse homelessness. for example, hurricane
Katrina caused many people in the New Orleans area to experience homelessness because they
could not afford the cost of repairs to their living areas. The main struggle of the homeless is to
regain the strength needed to return to their normal lives. One of the more notable programs the
government has created for the homeless to once again thrive into the job market is HomeAid.
This article was helpful because it gave specific numbers of homeless people in America today,
as well as the number of children subject to the hardship of homelessness astounded me. As far
as the cause behind homelessness, it was helpful to know that according to studies many kids are
born into it and natural disasters are also a promising cause to the struggle. The income of a
family does affect the housing situation. if a family cannot afford housing, and the economy's
housing prices go up, they will be forced to live on the street. This is how the numbers grow.
"The Government Is Proving That Homelessness Is A Solvable Problem." ThinkProgress
RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
This article focused on the governments role in ending homelessness.The Government
announced that veteran homelessness has dropped 33%. Over four years 25,000 veterans are now
no longer homeless. The government believes that homelessness is an issue that can be solved
throughout the nation. An additional 14 million dollars has been added to government spending
on the issue. Michelle Obama also launched a national campaign to help end the cause. Within
this campaign, over 200 mayos and officials have signed on to end the cause.The Nation's goal is
to focus on housing first. Getting people off the streets will ultimately end the struggle. In
Phoenix and Salt Lake the approach of providing housing has been made crucial. Both these
cities ended chronic homelessness among the veterans. Although from 2007 the numbers of
homeless have dropped, it is still an important issue to focus on. It is three times more expensive
for a homeless to be sent to jail or the hospital rather than housed. For this reason, the
government is focusing on housing them.
This article proved to be the most helpful. It focused on what he government's spending
on the issue was and how the executive branch is helping in ending the cause. Although the
article mainly focused on the homeless veterans of America, the numbers did increasingly
change. The emphasis on housing throughout the explanatory solution to the problem was vital
in my research. This helped in learning that not only do the citizens think housing is a good
solution, but the government does as well. From 2007 to now, the homeless number has
decreased drastically. The article gave specific and accurate numbers on how much this decrease
actually was.