The homelessness crisis is so bad that cities have their own homeless camps now, from Oakland, New York, Los Angeles and the list goes on. Homelessness is rising. And it’s not a surprise when California has the 3rd highest rents in the country and when an average 1br apt in our 34th Congressional District costs over $2000/month but when the median income for a family of 4 is $37,0000/year.
In 2019, homelessness in the U.S. increased for the second consecutive year. Although some subpopulations are declining, overall more and more Americans are facing life in shelters or on the streets. Even in our district, our neighbors are experiencing homelessness in Skid Row, DTLA and Koreatown, to say the least of all areas. And people without homes have no health care even though they suffer from the same illnesses as other individuals, but at rates around 4-5 times higher.
Even with those who currently have housing in our district, many of them/us live month to month, not knowing how they’re/we’re going to be able to pay the next month’s rent. What do we do about this? Obviously, it’s a bigger issue connected with the 30-year wage stagnation, the government’s prioritization of profit over people, and much more, but at least in the area of housing, there are certainly ways we can immediately seek to address head-on because every decision by the government is a life or death matter, especially those who don’t have healthcare and housing.
[Please also visit our Ending Homelessness page]