Minority
Groups, Families See Rise in Homelessness |
By Anita Varghese and Jorge Casuso
Staff Writers
January 7 -- The number of black and Hispanic homeless
on the Westside of Los Angeles, as well as the number of families
living on the streets of the county’s richest area, rose dramatically
in two years, according to an analysis of the latest homeless census
by The Lookout.
The homeless count on the Westside -- which includes Santa Monica, West Los
Angeles, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Malibu and Marina del Rey -- also saw an
increase in the number of older individuals living on the streets.
The number of men and woman 56 and older counted in one night increased from
763 counted in one night in January 2005 to 940 counted in one night two years
later, according to the 2007 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count..
Projections based in part on telephone interviews with property owners placed
the number of homeless individuals 56 and older at 1,868 in 2007, up from 1,656
two years earlier.
“Generally we are seeing people who have been on the streets longer,”
said John Maceri, executive director of OPCC, the area’s largest homeless
services agency. “As the general population is aging, the homeless population
is aging.”
The increase in the number of Hispanics, blacks, families and older individuals
living on the streets defied a general drop in the Westside’s homeless
population – from 6,860 in 2005 to 6,703 last year, according to the census.
The annual projection saw the number drop from 14,886 to 13,318 over the same
period.
Homeless experts attribute the increase in homelessness among the county’s
most vulnerable populations to a severe shortage of affordable housing, particularly
on the Westside, a slowing economy and a dwindling social services.
“Families are much more susceptible to losing housing or losing a job,”
Maceri said. “We are seeing a lot more people who are right on the edge.
“The safety nets are just eroding,” he said. “We end up becoming
the repository for what used to be the social safety net.”
The Hispanic population saw the biggest jump in homelessness, with the number
of those living in the streets or in shelters nearly doubling, from 665 counted
in January 2005 to 1,140 counted last January,
Projections placed the Hispanic homeless population at 2,264 last year, up
from 1,444 in 2005.
Conducted by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency (LAHSA), the census also
saw an increase in the black homeless population, from 1,935 in 2005 to 2,359
last year. The annual projections placed the number of homeless individuals
who are black at 4,688 last year, up from 4,198 in 2005.
Although blacks comprised less than 10 percent of the county’s total
population, more than half of the County’s homeless population is black.
Victims of domestic violence also found themselves living on the streets in
greater numbers in 2007 -- 563 compared with 462 in 2005.
The annual projection for the group -- which includes women, homosexuals, bisexuals
and the transgendered -- placed the number at 1,119 last year, up from 1,003
in 2005.
Of homeless women who responded to homeless count surveys, 20 percent said
they had been victims of domestic violence. Of these, more than half said domestic
violence was a significant contributor to their homelessness.
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