Homelessness

What can society do to help the

homeless?

Project by: Ashley Partida

Mr. Rodriguez
Period 4
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Abstract

Homelessness has been around for awhile now from approximately the 1950s and 1960s

but there was an increase in the 1980s due to high income and housing. Many people dont know

what homelessness really is, it is the state of having no home. It may get confused with the state

of being poor but it is a combination of those things.

The predictions that can be made for this research are the possibility of some people

agreeing to help the homeless but some people not agreeing or not caring and we can conclude a

prediction that there will be more people willing to help the homeless. We can also make a

prediction that there will be many possible ways that people can help the homeless but it is up to

the community to help the homeless. Another prediction we can make is that there are some

people that will want to help them but some that are tired of helping. I believe that more people

are tired of them and helping them because the numbers seem to have increased based on the

people seen on the streets. I have seen homeless people appearing on the streets where there were

no signs of homelessness before.

My plan for this research is to get to interview 100 students from my current high school

which is Bravo and ask them simple questions about what they think about the homeless. Then

based on that data I can have a proximate count of what the people in our community think about

them and what they are willing to do. I also plan to interview the executive director of the Los

Angeles Homeless Services Authority so he can provide more information on this topic and have

more information besides the one found in the research. Another plan that I have for this research

is to find relevant information that can give facts on homelessness.

Historical Context
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Ever since the year 1640 homelessness has been a problem in America. During the

mid-eighteenth century many people called the homeless vagrants and sturdy beggars. They

were found in every corner of the colonial towns such as Baltimore and Philadelphia. These

towns had a larger amount of homeless than any other town; this problem was a result of King

Philips War (1675-1676) against the native people. These people were driven out of their

colonies to seek for shelter in the forest or coastal areas. As the war continued between the

French and the Indians, some families were threatened and forced to become refugees across the

frontier areas like New England and New York.

Later on, the American Revolution increased the amount of homelessness and many

individuals after the war were forced out of their homes because they had very little left. In 1857

a financial panic had struck and most of the growing cities were full with homeless people. There

were some private charities and organizations that wanted to solve this problem but it didnt

work. For example in Philadelphia there was a Western Soup Society which provided people

with food. This organization tried to succeed without help of the government but there was little

funding available. The situation became worse after the civil war. Many more veterans and their

families were left homeless and unemployed.

Looking around the streets of Los Angeles to everywhere there is a increase in the

homeless population.. In the nonfiction book, Homelessness in America Today (2011), Jennifer

Bringle purports what the possible reasons are for people to become homeless. She gives us an

overview on what homelessness is and what the contributing factors are. She argues that the top

five factors could be poverty for example, decreasing employment opportunities; lack of

affordable housing - there is a decrease in the availability of affordable housing; domestic

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violence - according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, approximately half of all the

women and children experiencing homelessness are fleeing domestic violence; mental illness

because many mentally ill people cannot afford the proper treatment or housing they need, they

end up living in the streets;last but not least addiction, drug and alcohol abuse, especially from

the ones already suffering from poverty this leads them to homelessness. Adam Nagourneys

non-fiction article titled Homelessness Rises in Los Angeles, Except for Veterans and Families

asserts that from 2015 till 2016 there has been a 5.7 percent increase in the homeless population

but a 30 percent drop in homeless veteran population and 18 percent drop in the homeless family

population. Nagourney backs up his claim by providing interviews that he did with Peter Lynn

who is the executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority which oversees the

homeless in that region. Nagourneys purpose is to inform the people in Los Angeles what is

happening in their county in order to lower the 5.7 percent of the homeless population like the

veterans and families.

In conclusion there has been a drastic increase in the homeless population starting from

1640. This situation needs to be resolved with charities or support from the government and they

can provide the funding for them so they can keep helping the homeless.

Findings
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As many people may see and know about, homelessness has been a really big problem in

Los Angeles and other parts of the world. Many people want to learn how they become homeless

and what society can do to help this problem stop ; on the other hand, many people are also tired

of helping them and not seeing a change in their community. The numbers have been increasing

and they need to stop.

In the nonfiction book, Homelessness in America Today (2011), Jennifer Bringle purports

what the possible reasons are for people becoming homeless. She gives us an overview on what

homelessness is and what the contributing factors are. She argues that the top five factors could

be poverty for example, decreasing employment opportunities; lack of affordable housing - there

is a decrease in the availability of affordable housing; domestic violence - according to the

National Coalition for the Homeless, approximately half of all the women and children

experiencing homelessness are escaping domestic violence; mental illness because many

mentally ill people cannot afford the proper treatment or housing they need, they end up living in

the streets; last but not least addiction, drug and alcohol abuse, especially from the ones already

suffering from poverty this leads them to homelessness. Bringle asserts that, according to a

study by the National Law Center on Homelessness and poverty, approximately 3.5 million

people - 1.35 million of them being children - are likely to experience homelessness in a given

year(Bringle 5). The author also cites, According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors,

approximately 16% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe

and persistent mental

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illness(Bringle 8). Bringle discusses that the people, Fall so deeply into their addiction that

they can no longer afford to pay

for housing or otherwise support

themselves. They cannot afford

the counseling or support that is

needed to combat

addiction(Bringle 8). The survey

conducted which interviewed 100

teenagers shown in (Figure 1,

Graph 1 and 2) asks if they think

people become homeless because of their mental health or addiction and if welfare prevents

people from becoming homeless,

as seen on the graph there are 12

juniors which said they do

become homeless because of

their mental health or addiction

and there are also more juniors

who said that welfare prevents

people from becoming homeless.

The research cited shows, The connection between addiction and homelessness is complex,

though, as not all addicts end up homeless. In this scenario, the presence of poverty definitely

increases the likelihood of an addict becoming homeless(Bringle 9). (Figure 1, Graph 1 and 2)
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In relation to Jennifer Bringle, in this Los Angeles Times news article called L.A.

Countys Homeless Population Difficult to Quantify (2014) published by Gale Holland who is a

contact reporter, argues what some of the reasons are for the causes of homelessness. Holland

supports her claim by stating facts like,

Local officials announced in 2013

that 54,000 people in Los Angeles city

and county were homeless, an increase

of 15% from two years earlier.

Hollands purpose is to inform society

what a big and serious problem

homelessness has come too and in

order to persuade the community of Los Angeles to take action in these types of societal

problems. Hollands intended audience seems to be the people that this type of problem concerns

them and who just simply want to help the ones in need (Figure 2, Graph 3 and 4).

Holland asserts, Either way 54,000 or 36,000 Los Angeles remains second to New

York as the region with the most homeless residents. And officials say the uncertainty won't

affect L.A.'s share of funding for homeless housing and services, which is not based on homeless

numbers but on poverty and housing data (Holland 2014). She discusses, "Unless 18,000

people died, I have no idea where they put them," said Alice Callaghan, a longtime skid row

activist and head of Las Familias del Pueblo, which educates immigrant children (Holland

2014). The author asserts, Arnold said the commission is continuing to work with the VA to get

Los Angeles on an annual count schedule. To allow for historical comparisons and avoid the
 Partida -7

misleading appearance of a sudden drop, HUD in 2014 will publish L.A. numbers with and

without the hidden homeless data (Holland 2014).

On the other hand, in this non-fiction handbook by the county of Los Angeles titled

Strategies to Combat Homelessness (2016) asserts some possible ways that people can prevent

from becoming homeless. The county of Los Angeles supports their claim by providing evidence

and strategies about this problem that has been a problem for a while. The Los Angeles County

Board of Supervisors informs and helps people that are homeless in order to also help the people

in the county who are not homeless and are tired of nothing being done to help the homeless.

Given the informational and good suggestions, the intended audience for the Los Angeles

County Board of Supervisors is everyone who wants to help the homeless or needs help because

they are homeless. According to them, The homeless crisis in Los Angeles County has been

increasing and demands an urgent, coordinated response from the County, cities, and community

partners throughout the region. According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority

(LAHSA), the total homeless population in Los Angeles County was 39,461 in 2013 and 44,359
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in 2015, which equals a 12.4 percent increase. The homeless population in tents, makeshift

shelters, and vehicles saw a significant increase of 85 percent from 2013 (5,335) to 2015

(9,335) (Los Angeles County Supervisors 2016). They also explain how Homeless Families

Solution System (HFSS): Implemented on July 1, 2014, in conjunction with LAHSA and several

community based organizations, HFSS is comprised of eight Family Solution Centers, one in

each Service Planning Area, where homeless families can present and be connected to support

services and housing. During the first year of implementation, which ended on June 30, 2015,

1046 homeless families were placed into permanent housing (Los Angeles County Supervisors

2016). The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has come up with a solution which states

... in addition to helping currently homeless families and individuals move into permanent

housing. The recommended strategies in this area include: Development of a comprehensive

homelessness prevention program for families; Establishment of discharge planning guidelines

for all County departments which have the potential to discharge individuals into homelessness,

primarily the Sheriffs Department, Department of Health Services, Department of Public Health

and Department of Children and Family Services; and Multiple actions to better ensure that

foster youth are not emancipated into homelessness. Together, these actions are designed to

reduce both the number of individuals discharged into homelessness from institutions such as

jails, hospitals, and foster care, and the number of families who lose their housing and become

homeless. Reducing the flow of families and individuals into homelessness is key to combating

homelessness (Los Angeles County Supervisors 2016).

We can also see this in this non-fiction scholarly journal by Jennifer B. Unger, Michele

D. Kipke, Thomas R. Simon, Susanne B. Montgomery, and Christine J. Johnson titled Homeless
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Youths and Young Adults in Los Angeles: Prevalence of Mental Health Problems and the

Relationship Between Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders purports what the problems

for teens are that leads them to become homeless. The authors back up their claim by conducting

a study that measured symptoms of depression, low self-esteem, ADHD, suicidality,

self-injurious behavior, and drug and alcohol abuse. (Figure 3, Graph 5) Unger, Kipke, Simon,

Montgomery and Johnsons purpose is to inform and explain to people what some of the causes

of homelessness in youth are in order to teach the youth to seek for help if they are experiencing

any of those symptoms above. Given

the informational tone of these

authors, the intended audience are

youth and their parents whom are

willing to help inform other youth or

themselves. The authors assert that

This study measured symptoms of

depression, low self-esteem, ADHD, suicidality, self-injurious behavior (SIB), and drug and

alcohol use disorder in a sample of homeless youth and young adults living in Hollywood, CA

(Unger, Kipke, Simon, Montgomery and Johnson 1997). They inform the reader that Results

indicated extremely high prevalences of mental health problems, as compared with

corresponding rates of mental health problems found among housed youths in previous studies.

Prevalence of mental health problems differed by age and ethnicity. African Americans were at

lower risk of suicidal thoughts and SIB than were those of other ethnicities. Older respondents

and females were at increased risk of depressive symptoms, and younger respondents were at
 Partida -10

increased risk of SIB (Unger, Kipke, Simon, Montgomery and Johnson 1997). The authors

assert that Previous history of sexual abuse and/or assault was associated with increased risk of

suicidality and SIB. Risk factors for drug abuse disorder included ethnicity other than African

American, homelessness for 1 year or more, suicidality, SIB, depressive symptoms, and low

self-esteem. Risk factors for alcohol abuse disorder included male gender, white ethnicity,

homelessness for 1 year or more, suicidality, and SIB. Extremely high rates of mental health

problems and substance abuse disorders in this sample suggest the need for street-based and

nontraditional mental health services targeted toward these youths and young adults (Unger,

Kipke, Simon, Montgomery and Johnson 1997).

In addition, the podcast/interview by James Pethokoukis with Kevin Corinth, he purports

some of the policies put in place to assist the homeless. James Pethokoukis supports his claim by

interviewing Kevin Corinth who is a research fellow in economic policy studies at AEI.

Corinths purpose is to inform the people that there is possibilities to help the homeless and to

tell them what homelessness is in order to decrease the percentage of the homeless population.

Given the informational tone, the intended audience for this podcast seems to be the people who

actually care about the homeless, want to resolve the problem because they have personal

experience or they want to do a good deed (Figure 4, Graph 6).

Kevin Gorinth explains in the interview that Theres a pretty broad consensus that

homelessness has gone up a lot, beginning in the early 1980s. Theres a lot of debate over why

that happened the de-institutionalization of the mentally ill, increasing poverty, whether there

was an increase in single-parent families. Theres been a lot of debate about that We started to

actually do some surveys beginning in the 80s and 90s (16:23). He adds, These are extremely
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difficult questions. These very basic questions how do you define them? How do you count

them? those are two of the hardest things to answer. And I wont give you the magical

definitions or counts today. But to answer your first question about how many If we are

talking about numbers of people on the street, they do a count every year. Volunteers go out

across the country, this is done in the middle of January. They find about 170,000 people on the

streets. That number is probably higher in the warmer months, especially in colder weather

places, New York City, Chicago, but they find lots of people in warm weather areas. In terms of

definitions, obviously they count people on the street as homeless. People who are in emergency

shelters and also something called transitional housing, may be apartment-style living but maybe

its for six months to two years at

most thats all called

homelessness. Everything else is

not, at least when we are talking

about the official Department of

Housing and Urban Development

definition. Other departments

have other definitions. For

instance, the Department of Education has another definition which includes people who

double-up for economic reasons(20:03). Corinth adds, Sometimes people do use those other

safety nets. People who are on the street or in shelters before they were there they were in

family situations, or they will go there after. I find those social supports are extremely important,

and there may be policy levers we can press to spur those on, because that could be both a
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cheaper and maybe more effective and humanizing way to deal with homelessness. And again,

many people are homeless because those relationships have broken down and are not healthy. So

its a really hard field to play with in terms of policy but its one we really cant ignore because

these are real human beings. Somebodys brother, somebodys daughter, son, or parent. Those

relationships are hugely important and we need to make sure when we think about policies, we

think about these things too(35:17).

According to Victoria Nicholson, in the podcast Podcast with Lloyd Pendleton - How to

help the homeless she asserts the everyday struggle of people without housing and gives us a

variety of valuable advices on how we can help the homeless citizens. Nicholson supports her

claim by interviewing Lloyd Pendleton who is the ex-director of Utahs Homeless Task Force.

Pendletons purpose in this interview is to tell people that there are many different ways and

strategies that they can help the homeless in order to be able to bring the numbers of the

homeless population down. Given the informational and persuasive tone of Pendleton, the

intended audience seems to be the people who are interested in helping the homeless out.

Pendleton explains, As of 2015 the state of Utah has reduced the population of homelessness by

91% (00:41). Lloyd also asserts Homeless in Utah, the government found out that, some of the

people were critically homeless or were becoming homeless. The first step is we took the

homeless out of the street and put them into housing first. (03:14). Pendleton warns us to, Be

careful because not all people are homeless, they are pretending so what I did was I talk to them

like, hi how are you but dont give them the money. I would also take them out to eat, buy

them a sandwich so I can be able to hear their story and where they are coming from. (04:39).

As seen in this interview with Lloyd Pendleton, we can say that he does not have a sense of
 Partida -13

disgust towards them which is good because most people ignore them because they cant stand

the smell. See Figure 5, Graph 7 and 8.

Another example of people helping and making a move to help the homeless can be in

this documentary Helping the homeless - A short Documentary by Brandon Jackson, he asserts

a possible way people can help the homeless, in his case is volunteering at a refugee which

collects food for the homeless and distribute it. Jackson supports his claim by interviewing a

person that needs their help and he also interviewed a 3rd grade teacher who volunteers there and

helps out. Jacksons purpose is to tell people that by the little things you do in your community,

you can be helping millions of people in need, in order to inform adults, teens, and kids to help

their community refugee by donating food, clothes and that can really help someone out. Given

the informational and persuasive tone of Jackson we can say that the intended audience seems to

be kids, teens or adults who want to make a change in their community. Jackson says that the

First step to helping somebody is understanding their story (03:20). Jackson also asserts that I

interviewed someone that I work with, I work with The Refugee and I help because I think it is
 Partida -14

a calling from christ telling me to help and do the same as he would do for us. I am a 3rd grade

teacher and as a christmas project I assign them to bring breakfast goods and what they think

people would want to eat for breakfast. I bring them in the The Refugee and I know that they are

going to be used in a good way to help other people in need and I want them to know that they

are also helping other people by a small action that means a lot(05:21).

Besides the people that believe there is a chance to help the homeless and help the

homeless population go down, there are some people that believe or are in fact tired of helping

them because they are tired that there are no changes being done.

An example of this can be, in this nonfiction book, The Homeless: Opposing Viewpoints

(1995), the author Tamara Roleff argues that society is tired of helping the homeless. She talks

about how the people have been helping the homeless since the 1980s and they see little change

in this situation. In Tamaras book she includes an article from the New York Times called

Society Is Tired of Helping the Homeless by Isabel Wilkerson, in this article Wilkerson affirms

that some cities have fought back, for example; New Yorks transit authority has banned

panhandling in the subway system and there will be a 50 dollar fine on anyone caught doing so.

Another example is in 1990 Santa Barbara banned homeless people from sleeping on public

streets, beaches or sidewalks and in parking lots.

The author discusses that In August 1991, the District of Columbia closed two

emergency shelters and announced plans to eliminate half the beds in its shelters. It also plans to

severely restrict the number of nights the homeless people can stay with them. The citys tough

new stance comes with strong public backing (Roleff 25). Roleff asserts, Atlanta, preparing for

the 1996 Olympic Games, passed a law in July 1991, authorizing the arrest of anyone loitering in
 Partida -15

abandoned buildings or engaging in aggressive panhandling (Roleff 26) She talks about,

Wilkerson examines how cities, businesses, and individuals have begun to fight back against

what they perceive as an intrusion by homeless people by banning panhandling and sleeping in

public places and by lobbying to close homeless shelters (Roleff 30). See Figure 6, Graph 9

(Figure 6, Graph 9)

As seen by this graph, there are a number of people that said they want to get rid of the homeless

situation. In this case there are more seniors in high school who want to get rid of this problem.

Another homeless problem is that the amount of homelessness has increased except for

certain groups. This is

seen in Adam

Nagourneys non-fiction

article titled

Homelessness Rises in

Los Angeles, Except for

Veterans and Families

asserts that from 2015

till 2016 there has been a 5.7 percent increase in the homeless population but a 30 percent drop

in homeless veteran population and 18 percent drop in the homeless family population.

Nagourney backs up his claim by providing interviews that he did with Peter Lynn who is the

executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority which oversees the homeless

in that region. Nagourneys purpose is to inform the people in Los Angeles what is happening in
 Partida -16

their county in order to lower the 5.7 percent of the homeless population like the veterans and

families.

According to Nagourney, the homeless population in Los Angeles County jumped 5.7

percent last year, with a sharp increase in tents and homeless encampments offering daily

evidence of the problem sweeping this region, county officials said Wednesday. Yet the findings,

based on a three-night block-by-block census of homeless people living on the street, also

described reason for optimism: a 30 percent drop in the number of homeless veterans and an 18

percent decrease in homeless families (Nagourney 2016). He also adds, Homelessness is

responsive to targeted housing subsidies, which is why we saw fewer veterans on the streets, he

said. Second, the overall problem continues to get worse in the absence of those resources.

Still, this was the second year that the count tracked a jump in homelessness in Los Angeles.

From January 2013 to January 2015, the homeless population increased 12 percent, though that

report covered two years (Nagourney 2016).

Besides the articles mentioned above, there is another article which also notices the

increase in the homeless population. Ron Rokhy author of the non-fiction news article LA

County Homeless Population Up 16 Percent asserts that the population of homeless in Los

Angeles has gone up in just 2 years. Rokhy supports his claim by including an interview he had

with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority executive director Michael Arnold who

points out that he has seen a reduction in the amount of federal resources available to help the

homeless. Rokhys purpose is to inform people of the Los Angeles County what is happening in

their community in order to open their eyes so they can see what the real problems are.
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Rokhy asserts that Over the past year, weve seen a significant reduction in federal

resources available to fight homelessness, said Michael Arnold, Executive Director of LAHSA

in a press release. The increase we see today in our homeless population demonstrates the direct

relationship between resources to address the problem and our ability to have an impact (Rokhy

2013). The author shares that LAHSA conducted its most recent homeless count, in which

volunteers fan out over the county for two nights, in January. The report is based on that count.

The count found 58,423 homeless men, women and children, compared to 50,214 two years ago.

The number of homeless single adults increased by 29 percent, while unaccompanied youth 18

and under went up a staggering 122 percent (Rokhy 2013). Rokhy purports that In August

2012, federal funding for the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program expired, a

program which brought $80 million to combat homelessness in Los Angeles County between

2009-2012 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to the press

release (Rokhy 2013).

Apart from the article, there is a problem within the homeless population which occurs

when a certain homeless group is being neglected and not receiving the same amount of help as

everyone else. In this non-fiction scholarly journal titled Meeting Homeless Peoples Needs:

Service Development and Practice for the Older Excluded (2000) asserts that older homeless

people need more help and attention like the other groups. Warnes backs up his claim by

providing evidence that he has observed. Warnes purpose is to create awareness of the problems

and needs of a neglected group of disadvantaged people in order to provide them with food,

clothing and shelter. Given the evidence that he has provided, Warnes intended audience are the

people that notice this group of homeless people being neglected and want to help them.
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Warnes asserted, Neither this manual nor our programme of research seeks exceptional

help for homeless people over a certain age. We fully support the overall goal of preventing

homelessness at all ages, and we recognise that homeless adolescents are exceptionally

vulnerable and that society's response should be fast, protective and tenacious. One way to

reduce the number of people on the streets is to shorten the duration of 'episodes' of

homelessness to get people of whatever age into accommodation as quickly as possible

(Warnes 9).

In addition, in the article The Economist (2007), Economist Intelligence Unit N.A

Incorporated asserts that homelessness in Los Angeles is a really big problem. The Intelligence

unit cites examples of where the homeless are seen most which is in Skid Row and what the

police force is doing to clear up the streets. The authors also give information about the homeless

and how they are getting themselves into trouble by selling drugs, becoming prostitutes, or even

littering. The people that are seeing these problems are trying to help the homeless by inviting

them to join their drug-treatment programs. Considering all the information, the Intelligence

units intended audience seems to be the public who are willing to help the homeless. The authors

discuss how For the past five months a beefed-up police force has been arresting people for

drug dealing and petty crimes such as littering in Skid Row, an area just east of downtown also

known as Central City East. They also talk about Missionaries accompany them, cajoling the

homeless to join their drug-treatment programmes. The effect has been startling. According to

the police, crime in downtown Los Angeles is now at 1940s levels. On February 1st some 800

people were counted on the streets of Skid Row. There were 1,900 in September. They talk
 Partida -19

about how Los Angeles, which has more homeless than any other American city, has focused

on the toughest spot.

In the news article, How Los Angeles Homeless Crisis Got so Bad (2015) published

by Shelby Grad and Gale Holland who are news reporters from the Los Angeles times, explain

what the reasons are for people becoming homeless. Grad and Holland back their claim up by

saying that some, experts say that this situation is occurring because of high rents, low wages,

and high unemployments. Grad and Hollands purpose is to show and tell people that this

homelessness problem is not going to fix itself and in order to fix it they need to inform the

people what is really going on in the streets where the homeless live. The authors assert, They

point to gentrification downtown and in Venice, where cheap hotel rooms, motels and

single-room apartments -- once the last refuge of the poor -- are being eliminated (Grad and

Holland 2015). The describe that, The city's affordable housing fund, which in 2008 totaled

$108 million, plunged to $26 million in 2014. Officials are now trying to provide more money,

but political backing to build housing throughout the county has been a struggle (Grad and

Holland 2015). Grad and Holland talk about, L.A.'s climate and warm weather have long been a

magnet for homeless people. Some who provide services to the homeless on skid row say the

situation there -- both in terms of crime and health problems -- is the worst in years (Grad and

Holland 2015).

In this last news article, L.A. Countys Homeless Population Difficult to Quantify

(2014) published by Gale Holland who is a contact reporter, argues what some of the reasons are

for the causes of homelessness. Holland supports her claim by stating facts like, Local officials

announced in 2013 that 54,000 people in Los Angeles city and county were homeless, an
 Partida -20

increase of 15% from two years earlier. Hollands purpose is to inform society what a big and

serious problem homelessness has came too and in order to persuade the community of Los

Angeles to take action in these types of societal problems. Hollands intended audience seems to

be the people that this type of problem concerns them and who just simply want to help the ones

in need. Holland asserts, Either way 54,000 or 36,000 Los Angeles remains second to

New York as the region with the most homeless residents. And officials say the uncertainty

won't affect L.A.'s share of funding for homeless housing and services, which is not based on

homeless numbers but on poverty and housing data (Holland 2014). She discusses, "Unless

18,000 people died, I have no idea where they put them," said Alice Callaghan, a longtime skid

row activist and head of Las Familias del Pueblo, which educates immigrant children (Holland

2014). The publisher asserts, Arnold said the commission is continuing to work with the VA to

get Los Angeles on an annual count schedule. To allow for historical comparisons and avoid the

misleading appearance of a sudden drop, HUD in 2014 will publish L.A. numbers with and

without the hidden homeless data (Holland 2014).

 Partida -21

Epilogue

In conclusion, based on all the information gathered it is given that homelessness has been

problem all over the place. All the articles, books, podcast, and scholarly journals have different

opinions on homelessness. Some may think that it is a problem that needs support from the

society and people need to pay more attention to it, others say that they want to help the

homeless but don't know how. In contrast there are other articles that are tired of help the

homeless because of how big of a problem it has become.

Whether people believe or have different opinions, homelessness is a problem that will

never go away unless it has support from the government. The government has a major role in

this problem because it provides the money to the centers that provide housing, food, and other

important necessities. Without this help the centers will not be able to help the homeless as much

as it can.

Something that I would do differently is get to interview a person who is an expert in

homelessness and who works trying to help the homeless problem decrease. Another thing would

be to try to interview a homeless person who can provide information on what it is like to be

homeless so people can get a gist of what homelessness is and see it from a different perspective.

Most people judge the homeless population, they say unnecessary things, they look at them with

disgust and they simply ignore them.

 Partida -22

Works Cited

Castro, Sec. Julin. "Ending Homelessness in Los Angeles." The Huffington Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 4 Nov. 2016. Web. 01 Feb. 2017.

"County of Los Angeles Homeless Initiative." Strategies to Combat Homelessness

(2016): n. pag. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Jan. 2016. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Grad, Shelby, and Gale Holland. "How Los Angeles' Homeless Crisis Got so Bad." Los

Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 01 Feb. 2017.

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