Homelessness in Los Angeles
By Timothy Beck Werth, Posted 3/6/09
Listen to the full audio story
- homelessness.mp3
The foreclosure crisis coupled with an economic meltdown has put more strain on a neighborhood still struggling to reinvent itself. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development gave the greater Los Angeles area $73 million in grants, but it won't be enough to solve the crisis. Homeless service organizations are reporting an increase in homeless families, and are struggling to make do with limited resources.
The last homeless census was done in 2007, and found that on any given night 73,000 people were homeless. That was the year the foreclosure crisis started to affect South L.A. Low rent apartment buildings bought by speculators with bad loans began going into foreclosure, affecting dozens of families. Without enough permanent, low-income housing available, more and more families and individuals are being pushed into homelessness. Even families that were homeless, but found housing, are now back on the streets.
Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority: http://www.lahsa.org/
Beyond Shelter: http://www.beyondshelter.org/home.html
Unsheltered, a special report on homelessness in South L.A. http://www.ssgmain.org/unsheltered_report.pdf
Programs in South L.A. receiving funding from the new HUD grants:
39 West Apartments
Funding: $175,000.00
Run by: A Community of Friends
Figueroa Apartments
Funding: $210,433.00
Run by: A Community of Friends
Immanuel House of Hope
Funding: $76,192.00
Run by: Beacon Housing Foundation
Palms Transitional Housing
2008-09 Funding: $68,320.00
Run by: The Palms Residential Care Facility
Palms Transitional Housing/Supportive Services
2008-09 Funding: $61,041.00
Run by: The Palms Residential Care Facility
Pearl Center, The
Funding: $246,780.00
Run by: His Sheltering Arms
Ready, Willing and Able Program (a)
2008-09 Funding: $93,310.00
Run by: Project New Hope
Saraii Village
2008-09 Funding: $90,395.00
Run by: The Shields for Families
South Central Access Center
2008-09 Funding: $259,701.00
Run by: Watts Labor Community Action Committee
South Central Collaborative
2008-09 Funding: $282,429.00
Run by: Beyond Shelter
South Central Drop-In Center
2008-09 Funding: $387,743.00
Run by: Special Services for Groups
South Central Family Transition Program
2008-09 Funding: $141,911.00
Run by: Beyond Shelter
TCLC Training Center & Child Care Programs
2008-09 Funding: $157,436.00
Run by: Testimonial Community Love Center
Women and Children First
2008-09 Funding: $136,216.00
Run by: California Council for Veterans Affairs
Check out the future home of Annenberg student media:
Wallis Annenberg Hall
(opening Fall 2014)