For Homeless, a State of Crisis -LAT

Quietly, Vera Flores described how her family of eight had been homeless for two months on skid row in downtown Los Angeles, sometimes sleeping on sidewalks before finding a bit more comfort in a mission parking lot.

For the volunteers who came to help Flores, the most riveting aspect of her family's plight rested a few feet away: a month-old baby girl named Vanessa gently gurgling in a stroller.

"The notion that, in the city of Los Angeles in 2004, we have kids this age sleeping in these conditions — somehow we've collectively failed," said Dan Grunfeld, president of Public Counsel, a public interest law firm that works with Midnight Mission to assist about a dozen homeless families at the shelter.
..........
Families are the fastest-growing segment of the local homeless population. Poverty and high housing costs have been driving more and more onto the streets from Pacoima to Long Beach.

Last year, Los Angeles recorded a 25% increase in requests from families for emergency shelter.

An estimated 34,000 family members — about the population of Beverly Hills — are homeless at any given time in the county, according a report from the Economic Roundtable, a group that researches social issues.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-homeless30nov30,0,5800572.story?coll=la-home-local

It's a big secret in Florida that we continue to amass homeless due to the hurricanes. My guess is that their numbers are increasing because mold is becoming an issue and construction/repairs are slow. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush is happy to horde his found money.

in real estate these days. I know of four real estate brokers who sold their houses knowing that there were serious problems in the community, and never saying a word to the new buyers.

a recent government survey (along with a number of court rulings) have lessened the potential catestrophic liability owners face. This is a good thing. No one wants slumlords, but baseless litigation that destroys investments and small businesses is not good either.

mold -- which is a valid concern for people who get sick from it.

This is real life: People involved in real estate also join organizations in the community which get their tendrils into local government. Before too long, they're one and the same. They come in, they make self-serving decisions through the city that makes structural problems for the community. When word is almost out on the street, they sell and move out. You can't sue them, without sueing the city.

One thing I will agree with you is that we've stopped becoming a nation that cares about the consumer. We are back to consumer beware. So don't be surprised when the consumer confidence index continues to drop.

I don't know about real life?

I have been involved in real estate for the last 20 years of my life (started with zilch).

There are issues, no doubt about it. But the middle paragraph you wrote, leads me to believe you have absolutley no idea what you are talking about when it comes the legal issues that involve real estate.

There are REAL issues and I can assure you that I know more about my community than you do and if you aren't capable of understanding what I'm saying, it can only mean that you're not very connected and/or you don't live in Florida.

Florida cities:

Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Destin, Ft Walton, Navarre, Pensacola, Sarasota and Gainesville.

I love Miami...Cuban food rules.

hmmm?

only happened in the company of republicans...

Guess what Francis? The world is not as black and white as you think it is....

and integrity. I just haven't met any.

That's my point. You all do your jobs right and people go on their merry lives as if nothing happened. But if even one of you make a critical mistake, you change a person's life forever.

Since my experiences seem to aggrieve you so, I'll leave you with this small consolation: I have no personal information in the areas in which you built.

are you saying they didn't comply with disclosure laws (if any in Florida)

but don't ask for specifics. Generally speaking, people who make their living in the real estate market have sold houses without fulling disclosing things in the community that their buyers should have learned about. It did not involve mold. But it's a quagmire, "the issue" would mean tackling not just the developer, but the city that allowed the approvals to go through. And given the transient nature of the homeowners, the lack of leadership, and that city shills in the community, that's never going to happen. And it's definitely an issue that one person can't change. I know, I've already tried.

For the purpose of this thread, we'll just say that things happen in Florida, that should never happen, but it's impossible to tackle because of political connections.

couldn't tell if you were talking serious things, like structural defects in the houses, builders not following code, lack of city inspections of houses going up, flood plains or what

Lol.

...call them Welfare trash, claim they drain the economy and yet "look over" and are blind when large Corporations screw the treasury for a hundred times more money.

Back in the 80's a poll was taken and the question asked was:
"How much (percentage wise) do the welfare and food stamp monies cost the average American.
Most people placed it in the 20 to 25 percent range (it's about 2 percent)

One more example of how Americans try to run and pass laws based on Feelings and not facts....dumb fuckers...

It encourages conformity and obedience among those self-styled "middle class" workers terrified of losing their jobs.

That's how denial works,...to avoid acknowledging and facing the inexcusable. Homelessness (43+ MILLION) in the richest country in the world is inexcusable and is a clear indication that there are some very serious problems in this land.

I don't recall any specific requests that appealed to our generosity, though.

To keep the middle class in line out of fear.

every block downtown is populated by homeless of every shape & size.

blue cities are a magnet - we have social services.

i believe red counties are the source of the homeless population.

Houston has quite a few homeless. And where are your figures showing how "red" counties are the source of the homeless population?

Isn't Seattle the home of the original Skid Row?

to Charles Bukowski).

was not for drunks but the place where logs traveled as Seattle was a logging city.

If you're going to point it out, please use it correctly.

...the name was "Skid Road," not "Skid Row."

I mentioned tent city. It was not a place for drunks. It was a place where Americans which fell on hard times due to the economic downturn of the early 80s, and lost their homes, went to live.

back when SEattle was being founded & settled, the waterfront was (still is) downhill. During logging times, the logs would be skidded from the top of the hill down to the waterfront where they could be loaded onto barges. Thus, the street where the logs were rolled down to the waterfront was called Skid Row.....but not because it was an undesirable part of town, just because that's what the road was used for

Here are some links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skid_Row

The first skid row was Skid Road (Yesler Way) in Seattle, where logs were skidded into the water for delivery to Henry Yesler's lumber mills. After the onset of the Great Depression, the area went into decline, and skid row became synonomous with being a bad neighborhood.

http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20030819.html

While the phrase "Skid Row" was made popular during the Depression to describe run-down parts of town, the Word Detective dates the phrase to 19th-century logging towns in the Pacific Northwest. The loggers built "skid roads," which were made of old railroad ties or heavy wooden planks, to facilitate moving felled trees down to the mill

http://www.cityspin.com/seattle/overview/overview.htm

Skid Row
Seattle was the site of the original "Skid Row." Yesler Way was so named because lumbermen used it as a skidway for logs. The lumbermen's love for the street saloons gave rise to Skid Row's association with drink.

In LA, I get the feeling it may be from across the border. Are we to extend our logic to Mexico and give aid/shelter to them as well? I am wondering what the answer is.

I've ran into homeless in LA and in Anaheim on the sidewalk in front of Disney Land every time I've gone there over the past 15 years.

Blaming the homeless on Mexicans sure sounds like an anti-imigration(read racist) deal to me. What do you want to blame the homeless from Seattle on? They look pretty black/white to me.

Three years ago I was helping someone shoot a student film downtown and we ran into a homeless man (red hair, fair complexion) who used to work at boeing and lost his job and his home. He was explaining how he ran into Mark Sidran several times, as his office was right down the street. Sidran kept telling him it was his fault he was homeless and couldn't find a job that paid enough to get him a place to live. Sidran it turned out was also the one who passed the law so the homeless couldn't sit down on the sidewalk in Pioneer Square. Later Mark Sidran showed up and acted in the Student film, the homeless man had also helped on. The film student shooting it was a Republican... who ended up homeless shortly after, and I kid you not, downtown Seattle, right by Sidrans office. My bf and I would buy meals and take them to the guy.

The manager of the Cities HR department told me once that they had torn down a building downtown that housed several hundred homeless in the 90s. Each were given a $1200 check. Half got on their feet with that.

She told me many of the ones that didn't were thought to be mentals who needed institutionalized but the state wouldn't pay for them to be.

-----

I should also add that for years, Seattle had removed all benches from downtown bus stops so the homeless couldn't sit down. They started bringing them back in 2003 when Greg Nichols got elected mayor. I was very happy Sidran lost that election.

>>>She told me many of the ones that didn't were thought to be mentals who needed institutionalized but the state wouldn't pay for them to be.>>>

A good many of the homeless are mentally ill, who deserve and need someplace better than a converted firehouse or warehouse to call home. This is a direct result of Reagan's compassionate plan to release patients from hospitals back in the 1980s. It is truly very sad. Most are fine if they are on their medications, but some can't get them, or aren't disciplined enough to take them when and how they should, and of course their disability often precludes them from working. Then they are able to turn on a dime emotionally, which can present problems for shelter staff and other guests. So, my thanks, Ron, for definitely creating a permanent underclass.

Another point: My city actually makes those who panhandle register with the police department. They must carry IDs that are about the size of sandwich boards. But at least the homeless aren't in danger (yet) of being arrested just for not having a place to stay, as they are subject to at a bigger town about 45 miles down the road from me.

"Last year, Los Angeles recorded a 25% increase in requests from families for emergency shelter. "

one of my sons is homeless in anaheim and he's as white as they come...:-( mental illness will do that to ya.

money. They don't feel it is "correct" or whatever to treat residents or others who have gambling problems. They just want them out of there. I remember reading this in the local paper when I was there a few years ago and seeing some homeless people

comapred to other large cities mentioned in the article. What is going on with LA specifically?

More like every time a nazi party member gets into power {presidency} in the U.S., the economy goes into the shitter, more families "fall through the cracks" & become homeless.

People can easily think that the homeless are drug-addicts or mentally ill-but they're talking about "intact families" becoming homeless. That means Mom, Dad, & the kids. Think about those awful pay-day loanshark places, I've read somewhere (can't recall specifics) that alot of Americans are 1 or 2 paychecks away from the streets. If one parent is out of work & looking, & the other gets fired...or just can't make ends meet with one source of income...It's frighteningly easy to become homeless in America, especially when cities don't want to build low-income apartments. What's a mall worker to do? Unlike Donald Trump, who had some trouble in the 1990s, the average American doesn't have his kind of options, so they become homeless. They call it "Falling Through the Cracks". Jim Carrey, the actor, has spoken about his experiences a bit; he was homeless as a teen, I think, with his family.

hollywood crowd when you need them?

The economy is booming in Virginia.

The unemployment rate is 3.3%

housing or assisting low income families. Meanwhile banks loan suburban yuppies hundreds of thousands of dollars so they can live in oversized McMansions and drive around in gas-guzzling SUVs. Many of these people are one paycheck away from losing it all, but you'd never know it by their arrogance and sense of entitlement.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Baltimore is the first speaker...
snip>
"However," she said on the Senate floor, "those increases came at a price. To provide those needed increases for veterans and NASA, we had to cut essential programs. . . .

"We were forced to cut housing for the elderly by $26 million. Housing for the disabled is cut by $10 million. The Community Development Block Grant program, one of the most important programs in this bill and one of the most important programs for state and local government, is cut by $200 million compared to last year. . . .

"Thanks to the Republican budget cuts, we are shifting the burden of environmental protection to state and local governments. Overall, EPA is cut by over $300 million compared to last year. . . . That means every state will get less money for sewer construction."
......
Sheila Crowley, a longtime housing advocate, wrote to the members of her organization:

"People who need or rely on public housing, Indian housing, elderly housing, housing for people with AIDS or who are disabled, block grants for affordable housing and community development, and even homeless assistance will have to do with less in the coming year. . . . Tougher times are ahead for low-income people in the United States."

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=609&u_sid=1272365

too bad the homeless can't afford to go to this dinner, maybe Arnold could help them out...

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/10309768.htm?1c


DALLAS Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to keep a low profile upon arrival at a Dallas campaign fund-raiser today.

That's after making a splash in College Station yesterday when he was receiving an award from former President Bush.

The California Republican was expected to raise about 150-thousand dollars at the private fund-raising breakfast at a Dallas hotel. He arrived for the breakfast this morning but was not available for questions.

But some 50 Texas business leaders were invited, with ticket prices ranging from a thousand to 20-thousand dollars each. Under California law, contributors can give up to 21-thousand-200 dollars to a candidate per election cycle.

more...

Now all the her kids can live on the street. Now that's Christian! Praise Jesus Bush, he's pro-homeless.