Alqallaf

Shahad Alqallaf
English 113B
Professor Rebecca Lawson
May 12, y
Project Space Revised Draft
Word Count: 1625
Skid Row Homeless Home.
Los Angeles is well known in its tourism attraction and fancy Beverly Hills life. However
beneath all of that, there are poverty, homeless, and unemployment issues. Downtown Los
Angeles has a group of neighborhoods called Skid Row. It is located in 3rd and 7th Streets, to the
North and South, and Alameda and Main, to the East and West. Most of tourist gets lost in
Downtown Los Angeles, and they get shocked if they entered Skid Row. This place is full of
fights, mess, and drunken people. They live in tents, carts, or directly on the street. It is a place
where we can see how drugs addicted ruined their life, and where we realize how homelessness
is a neglected issue in our society; where homeless doesnt get an opportunity to improve their
life.
Skid Row defines home for homeless in Los Angeles. If anyone entered this area, they
will see a huge amount of tents, where people live and sleep. Not to mention that, this place is
not safe. They dont know what is coming next for them. No one will imagine the hard life that
homeless live, even if they drag their-self into this life. Some of them are drugs addict, they
might do anything just to have drugs. For example, getting in debt, losing their job, or sell their
house. That is the reason why they end up with no money and home.

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Skid Row is the place where humanity doesnt exist. For me, I have never seen this scene
before. I came from a small country in the Middle East, called Kuwait. In Kuwait, it is rare to see
poor people, and homeless doesnt exist in my country. We have organizations that help any one
in need. By giving people money every month to buy their needs, help with education, or give
them a place to live in. Also, the government helps those organizations by funding it. It is not
because we are wealthy, or because of our religion. It is because since we were kids Kuwait
education has taught us that we have to help anyone if we can even in small things, also to live
like siblings. When I entered Skid Row, by accident, I couldnt stand watching people suffer or
live hard life. The place broke my heart, because I knew that most of homeless drag their-self
into this life, and the others couldnt bear the tough life that we live now. Not to mention that I
knew homeless arent getting any help from us.
Also, going to this place would change the perspective people have for their life. Maybe
they will know how lucky they are because they have a house to live in safely. As well as having
a hard work that they get tired of, but will insure their future. Some students will understand that
studying hard while they are young will make them live with a good future. People may be afraid
to be lazy and end up being broke, by going to this place and realize the hard life homeless are
living.
Homeless live everywhere in Los Angeles. In an article that I Found in LA times, the
author Steve Lopez mentioned that, 47,000 people don't have homes. About 28,000 of them are
in the city of Los Angeles. It is odd if we think about it. Los Angeles is the place where the
riches people live in, the place where celebrity calls it home. Beverly Hills is in Los Angeles, the
place that people call fashion paradise; where the wealthy people enjoy their day. Not to mention
that, Los Angeles is the most visited city in the US from tourists. Otherwise, it gathers the half

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amount of homelessness. Beside that, the distance between Beverly Hills and Skid Row is small,
but the difference is huge between both places. There is no help offered for them, they are living
tough life with no ability to see improvement in it.
Doing interviews with Skid Rows homeless wasnt easy. Luckily, I found a documentary
called Lost Angeles that talk about people who live there, to publish their stories and suffering.
This movie let people who are homeless discuss their life issues and say anything they want
people to hear. It is obvious that this place gather people from diverse cultures. It doesnt matter
where they are coming from, because no one will notice them there. People who are homeless
are neglected from some people in our society.
In the beginning of the documentary, they mentioned that most of homeless were in
mental institution. They are struggling from mental illness, or drug addiction, and sometime
both. Homeless are living on the street and sleeping there, which is something really hard. Not to
mention that, there is robbery, and fights all the time there. People get tough in skid Row to
survive, but how can people with mental issues survive? The documentary broke my heart more
than going to Skid Row by myself. I went there by accident for only 10 minutes, approximately.
But watching Lost Angeles movie made everything clear for me.
Mothers are dying because they are living far away from their children. A great amount of
children are in foster care, because their mothers are addicted to drugs; in some cases living in
foster care is better for children. That being said its really hard for them to stop taking drugs
because these people are going into depression and they think that by drugs they will feel better.
This means, if they didnt quit drugs and get better life, they will have to accept living without
their kids.

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Most of homeless there suffer from depression. Its obvious that homeless lost everything
they had. In the documentary, Danny Harris tells his story. He was born in Compton, and in high
school he was an athlete and a decent student. As he mentioned, he got a scholarship to a good
university because of his athletic records and his grades. But, he started to smoke weed in high
school, and weed drag him to try other drugs. He ended up involving with Cocaine, and within
time, he became a drugs addict. Danny live changed because of drugs, from being a decent
student, and an athlete who is nominated to the Olympic, he lost everything as he mentioned I
had lost all the financial means that I had.
Harris described his first time sleeping on the streets of Skid Row. He said that sleeping
outdoors for the first time was scary. He didnt expect finding numerous numbers of people who
live there. Danny Harris story is teaching people how drugs could ruin the future of anyone. He
ended up being homeless because of his addiction to drugs. However, he realized that its not
safe and he quit drugs. He get into The Midnight Mission, which is a homeless shelter opened in
1914. This mission offers treatments for drug and alcohol addict. The Midnight Mission is where
Dannys got the rescue from his addiction. Also, this place gives the homeless jobs to work in the
mission.
As Clancy Imislund, managing director of The Midnight Mission, mentioned that in the
past, even if there were too many homeless, Skid Row was safe! But now, there are fights
everywhere because there is crack addict said by Imislund. Drugs addict dont care if they get
into fights, or kill someone just to have money to get more drugs. As he described this group it
is a desperate addiction. Even if there are fights, it isnt necessary that homeless are making it.
In the article Tackling Homelessness in Los Angeles' Skid Row the author mentioned that even
though there are a numerous amount of homeless in Skid Row, but these fights arent associated

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with homeless. Actually the author mentioned that homeless are being the victims of the
crimes there.
Maybe we cant help this huge amount of poor people. Most of them are sick and need a
serious help. And living without home, or a wall that gives you the safety is not a bearable
situation. I have searched if there is anyone who is helping Skid Rows homeless, and I found too
many non-profit organizations that help them. Also, missions are offering volunteering chances
for people who are interested. Even if going there could be dangerous as people think, but inside
the missions is safe. For example, Union Rescue Mission is offering online donation for
homeless. Also, it is giving people plentiful ideas to help homeless. Other missions do programs
for helping homeless simply, like giving them clothes, or food.
Lastly, people must learn that drugs are destroying the future of anyone whose taking it.
We have to learn that it will lead us to depression and loosing everything we love like our family,
health, future, and we will lose our-self at the end. Also, this is the place where people should
appreciate education, because any educated person will always have a future. Also we should be
helping poor people in any way we can, and we shouldnt ignore any homeless we see on the
sidewalk. Helping in small things matters, because these people really need our help. Not all of
them are drug addict, or dangerous as people think. Some of them couldnt have the strength
facing their tough life. Lost Angeles documentary gave LAs homeless the opportunity to talk and
describe how do they feel about living in Skid Row, and why they are there. Just help any
homeless you see in the future, because no one knows what do they need. Overall, there should
be more mental institutions for the ill homeless. Also, there should be more supportive housing
for them before giving them medication.

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Work cited
Culhane, Dennis P. "Tackling Homelessness in Los Angeles' Skid Row." Criminology & Public
Policy, 9.4 (2010): 851-857.
Lost Angeles. Dir. Phedon Papamichael. By Chris Merrill. Burgundy Films, 2012. Netflix.
Lopez, Steve. "Five Ways to End Homelessness in L.A." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2016. Web. 11 May 2016.