MAYOR: L.A. 'CAPITAL OF HOMELESSNESS' NEARLY 50,000 WERE WITHOUT SHELTER IN `05.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer Nearly 50,000 people in the city and more than 82,000 in Los Angeles County slept in a shelter or on the street in 2005, a study released Thursday found, prompting Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to call Los Angeles the nation's ``capital of homelessness.'' The report by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority estimated that 82,291 county residents were homeless on any given day last year, including 48,103 living in Los Angeles. ``These are staggering numbers when you think about it,'' Villaraigosa said. ``This is the capital of homelessness in the United States of America UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The name of this country. The United States, now thirty-one in number, are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, . ``It dwarfs the homeless problem anywhere in the state, and the city of Los Angeles
The agency counted 20,023 people living downtown - mostly on Skid Row - followed by 16,787 in South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. , 11,275 in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys and 9,254 in the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. . The South Bay and Harbor areas had the next-highest total at 7,369. ``It's not just a downtown Skid Row problem,'' said LAHSA LAHSA Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (California) Commission Chairman Owen Newcomer. The $350,000 LAHSA survey also found that 221,363 people - or one in 40 people in the county - were homeless at some point in 2005. The report marks the first attempt to gather detailed data on the homeless. The survey will be used to help officials develop strategies on how to end homelessness. Last year, the Board of Supervisors allocated an extra $34 million for shelter and services. Villaraigosa has committed an additional $50 million, along with supporting a $1 billion bond measure to develop more affordable housing citywide. Officials also hope to use some of the $280 million that will be generated over the next three years from the voter-approved Mental Health Services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract Act to provide housing and other services for mentally ill homeless people. LAHSA, a city-county authority, has been successful in obtaining more federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve to house the homeless, watching those dollars grow from $47 million in 2002 to $60 million last year. In March, LAHSA and Bring LA Home plan to release a comprehensive plan to end homelessness in 10 years. ``The first project will probably be in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or ,'' said Mercedes Marquez, general manager of the Los Angeles Housing Department. ``Housing for families that are on the edge of homelessness will be the first type of project the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. sees because they have lighter service needs.'' Despite these recent efforts, only 12 percent of the county's homeless receive shelter on any night. And contrary to the popular myth that homeless people from throughout the nation come to Los Angeles for its great weather, 78 percent said they had been living in the county at the time they became homeless. ``We do not have a situation where hordes are coming in from outside the county,'' Newcomer said. ``Nearly half the homeless were renters immediately before becoming homeless. They fell on hard times.'' Of the homeless, 47,813 were men, 17,543 were women, 1,088 were transgender and 19,882 were members of a homeless family. ``A number that wasn't mentioned is that there are 10,000 homeless children in the city of Los Angeles,'' Villaraigosa said. ``Think about that.'' The survey found that the typical homeless person An individual who lacks housing, including one whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations; an individual who is a resident in transitional housing; or an individual who has as a primary residence a resembles many low-income people with fragile safety nets. In the survey, 24 percent said the loss of a job was the primary reason for their homelessness. Of the homeless, 41 percent were black, 28 percent were white, 24 percent were Latino, 4 percent were multiracial, 3 percent were American Indian or Alaskan Native and 1 percent were Asian or Pacific Islanders. Another study by the National Coalition for the Homeless This article is about the national organization. For the original advocacy group it was based on see Coalition for the Homeless The National Coalition for the Homeless listed Los Angeles as the nation's 18th ``meanest'' city for homeless people. ``I don't believe that to be true,'' Villaraigosa said. ``Very clearly, there is a united commitment to end homelessness here.'' Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 boxes Box: (1) Homeless estimates by region (2) Homeless estimates by service planning area SOURCE: Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority |
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