Desperation for the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles

Desperation for the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES: When Carlos Schmidt beds down on the hard streets of Los Angeles, he has nothing but a backpack and an old blanket, like thousands of other homeless people in one of the richest cities in the world’s richest country.

“At nighttime, I just find somewhere quiet like a park or a bus bench, where there’s not a lot of chaos,“ the 37-year-old told AFP.

“And I’ll try to rest up right there for as long as I can.”

Schmidt is one of some 75,500 people living on the streets of Los Angeles and its sprawling suburbs, according to a January survey.

The figure is up 70 percent since 2015, in a city where sometimes shocking levels of inequality are on daily display.

Impossibly glamorous people swan through the streets in top-of-the-range sports cars, hopping from a $1,000-a-head restaurant to an exclusive nightclub with an eye-watering price list.

On those same streets, men and women huddle against hunger, more than a few of them grappling with untreated addiction or mental health problems.

– Real estate –

The City of Angels is not alone in California, a state that accounts for around a third of America’s known homeless, with significant populations in places including San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego.

The reasons for homelessness are manifold and compound, and include illness, addiction, family breakdown and debt.

But a significant factor in the Golden State is its lopsided real estate market, where multi-million dollar homes are surprisingly common — and where median rent for a Los Angeles studio apartment is more than $1,700 a month.

This is what tipped Schmidt onto the streets two years ago.

Unable to make his rent, he slept on a friend’s couch until that arrangement fell apart.

The $400 a week he earned in a cleaning job was not enough to keep a roof over his head. After a few weeks in hotels, his savings were gone.

“I’ve tried it on my own. But everything was just so expensive. On top of that, you got to get food,“ he said.

The stress of the streets plunged him into depression, increasing his drug use, and he eventually lost his job.

“Sometimes it’s just easier to just give up… So that’s what I did.”

– State of emergency –

The sight of scrappy tents cramming sidewalks is tragically common in Los Angeles, repeated on Hollywood’s boulevards, the streets of Venice Beach and beneath highway overpasses.

The issue loomed large in last year’s mayoral election; winner Karen Bass declared a state of emergency as one of her first acts in office.

The Democrat says she wants to put an end to stop-gap policies that just shift the problem — cleaning up one homeless encampment only to see it spring up a few streets away, like human Whack-a-Mole.

Over the past 12 months, the city says it has dismantled 32 camps, offering accommodation to their residents. It claims to have put 21,600 people in emergency facilities — hotels, so-called “tiny house” villages and other dedicated centers.

The mayor has also reduced the bureaucracy that slows construction of desperately needed housing.

But it’s all a long way from being fixed.

“Confronting this crisis is like peeling an onion,“ Bass told reporters. “When you peel an onion, you cry.

“Every time we’ve taken a step forward, we find a barrier and we have to knock that barrier down.”

On Wednesday, Bass toured a sidewalk in front of a Hollywood school where 40 people had been sleeping a year ago.

That encampment was gone; but three blocks away, a dozen grubby tents scarred Sunset Boulevard.

– The bite of inflation –

The job facing Bass and her administration is huge and Sisyphean: dozens more people become homeless every day.

An already expensive city is getting more so, as the pressures of global inflation continue to bite; tens of thousands of tenants face losing their homes now that a moratorium on evictions imposed during the Covid pandemic has lapsed.

An initial mayoral pledge to provide long-term housing for everyone who has been in emergency accommodation for six months has been watered down.

“The reality is… interim (housing) is really going to mean more like a year-and-a-half to two years,“ Bass said.

In any case, it’s never simple when you’re dealing with human beings.

After nine months in a hotel, Jacquies Manson chose to return to his tent on a sidewalk in Venice Beach.

Manson has been clean for five years after a number of drug-related stints in prison.

But the hotel’s rules — including a ban on overnight visitors — were too much for him.

“I’m 52,“ he said. “I don’t need someone knocking on my door at 6:00 am every morning to check that there’s nobody else in my room.”

Paralyzed on his left side after a stroke, he cannot find a job and receives a monthly disability allowance of $1,000.

But it’s not enough.

“I could maybe find a crappy room for 900 bucks. But how do you want me to live off the remaining hundred dollars for a month?” -AFP

Author:

5 thoughts on “Desperation for the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles

  1. Ich hatte Zugriff auf meine Lieblingsspiele, konnte Einzahlungen vornehmen und
    die Bonusangebote nutzen. Das WSM Casino bietet
    keine native App für iOS und Android an. Das WSM Live Casino bietet eine Auswahl an beliebten Casinoklassikern von den Software-Anbietern Evolution, Betgames TV,
    Onetouch und Bombay Live. Es überraschte mich, dass es
    keine Kategorie für Tischspiele gibt. Die Spieleauswahl enthält Games der Kategorien Slots, Live-Games,
    Crypto-Games und Crash-Spiele.
    Diese exklusiven Boni und Angebote sind ein weiterer Anreiz, die mobile Plattform von WSM Casino zu nutzen und das Spielerlebnis auch unterwegs in vollen Zügen zu genießen. WSM Casino belohnt mobile Nutzer mit speziellen Boni,
    die exklusiv für das Spielen auf mobilen Geräten angeboten werden. Zudem bieten sowohl die App als auch die Browser-Version individuelle Anpassungsmöglichkeiten, sodass Spieler ihr Erlebnis personalisieren können. Die Performance der mobilen Plattform ist
    herausragend, mit minimalen Ladezeiten, sodass Spieler
    ohne Verzögerung loslegen können.

    References:
    https://online-spielhallen.de/verde-casino-no-deposit-bonus-fur-deutschland/

  2. Remote access software allows users to connect to and control another device from a distance, enabling remote desktop
    work, IT support, and secure data access.

    TeamViewer is one of the best remote access software solutions for Windows, offering
    cross-platform support, advanced security, and an intuitive user
    experience. TeamViewer is a leading remote access software solution, offering fast, secure,
    and reliable remote connectivity for businesses and individuals alike.
    TeamViewer’s software provides secure, instant access to
    employee devices across your business, letting your IT team solve problems and
    provide support from anywhere. Connect, support, and
    manage devices from anywhere with TeamViewer’s remote access solution.
    The secure encryption protocols protect sensitive work data across these
    varied networks, addressing a key concern for remote professionals who handle client information.
    Alternatively, access and start using TeamViewer on your iPhone, iPad,
    Android phone, or Android tablet (any manufacturer)
    by opening the web app in your browser or following the download link for your device from the website.

    Remotely wake up and restart devices in sleep mode to
    keep operations running smoothly. TeamViewer Remote
    offers a simple, efficient way to monitor, maintain, update, and optimize
    delocalized computers, devices, and applications.
    Discover how TeamViewer AI helps your support team resolve issues faster and work more efficiently.
    Open the TeamViewer web or desktop client on the
    outgoing device and create a remote session. Stay on top of
    personal device updates and maintenance no matter where
    you are. Lightweight application, with no services running all
    the time. It is the most widely adopted security ratings solution for all
    industries and markets. Get insights across performance, applications,
    operating systems, security, and networking categories.

    References:
    https://blackcoin.co/casino-winning-odds-best-and-worst-games-chances-to-win/

  3. Boost productivity with AI-powered insights and automation, from real-time session summaries to in-session troubleshooting with Tia.

    Every session is safeguarded with AES-256 bit encryption and TLS 1.2 protocols,
    providing the highest level of security. Experience seamless cross-platform connectivity, enterprise-grade end-to-end encryption, and AI-enhanced
    performance. If you are already an existing customer, please visit the Customer Portal for licensing options.
    Please be aware that this trial is only intended for prospective customers interested in buying TeamViewer.

    TeamViewer meets a wide range of remote support needs for users across all
    industries and organizational sizes. “I can quickly remote in and solve their problem, so there’s no downtime or lag in our customer service.” Our current remote resolution rate
    is extremely high, and our customer satisfaction is high even in this era when people feel systems
    should always run smoothly.” “In order to be able to react quickly, we needed a remote support solution that, in addition to the usual Windows
    PCs at the workstations, also supported iOS
    of the latest generation, and in particular our app.” Access and control any device regardless of operating system with TeamViewer’s universal remote desktop connection. Connect seamlessly between Windows, use the remote desktop connection for macOS systems, or connect to Linux, Android, Raspberry Pi, and other platforms and manage your digital ecosystem from anywhere.

    References:
    https://blackcoin.co/skycrown-online-casino-au-pokies-payid-neosurf-fast-payouts/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *