The Los Angeles Homeless Containment Thread (Sacramento, Westminster: credit report, privacy, career)

[jm1982]

The economy in L.A has been relatively good the past few years and unemployment low yet the homeless population has gone up a ton .

The rents going up thing doesn’t apply as much in L.A since there is rent control on many apartment buildings . The ones built before 1978

If you notice rents are going up and you are in a low paying job wouldn’t you move to a place where you have better opportunity etc ? Lower rents etc ?

Or would you just say “I’m going to live here even if it means I have to live in a cardboard box or in a car “ ?

[rodentraiser]

Just so you all know:

"Increasing rents are the main driver of increases in homelessness

National research shows a connection between rent increases and homelessness: a $100 increase in rent is associated with an increase in homelessness of between 6 and 32 percent."



This study says it goes up by 15%. This was in 2015.

https://www.kiro7.com/news/rent-incr...sness/28697248



And from this article in 2017:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ev...ess-2017-08-03

"The homeless population in metropolitan areas like Los Angeles is increasing as a result of the rising cost to rent housing.

As rents climb across the U.S., more people are being driven into homelessness.

In some of the country’s hottest housing markets, rent increases have a strong connection with upticks in the homeless population, according to a study released this week from real-estate website Zillow. In New York City, a 5% rent hike would lead to nearly 3,000 more people becoming homeless. In Los Angeles, the same increase in rent would leave around 2,000 people without a place to live."

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Many homeless work but are still homeless? Data? I've never heard or read that.

You're being funny, right? You're not really trying to say that you've never heard that most homeless people are working at least part-time, are you?

Originally Posted by jm1982

The economy in L.A has been relatively good the past few years and unemployment low yet the homeless population has gone up a ton .

The rents going up thing doesn’t apply as much in L.A since there is rent control on many apartment buildings . The ones built before 1978

If you notice rents are going up and you are in a low paying job wouldn’t you move to a place where you have better opportunity etc ? Lower rents etc ?

Or would you just say “I’m going to live here even if it means I have to live in a cardboard box or in a car “ ?

If you're a single parent who works and your in-laws or parents are babysitting your kids during the day, you aren't going to want to move because then you face paying for day care. Likewise, if you've been raised in an area and all your relatives and friends are there, especially relatives that may help you out, you aren't going to want to move either.

Also, if you're on any kind of assistance, like food stamps or welfare, you have to reapply all over if you move to another state. Sometimes the benefits you get have to be reapplied for if you just move to another city. And that's a royal pain in the behind.

People who are living in cities may not have transportation to move. They may be using city buses to get to their jobs but with no car, how do they move across state or across the country to where things are cheaper? And let's face it, if you're on the West Coast, you have to move at least a couple states east before you find anything cheaper. Unless you want to live out in the boonies and commute 40 or more miles to work.

And let me tell you from experience, moving ain't cheap. Virtually every thread that has been started on CD about someone saying they're going to make a move has a response that tells the person to have a job lined up before they move.

Well, that's kind of difficult to go back and forth hundreds of miles for job interviews if you're aready short of cash. Not to mention, any time someone wants to rent an apartment, there's first, last, and security due, plus a credit check and references from the old landlord. Landlord's today can pick anyone they want, so if you have any credit problems at all, no one is going to rent to you.

And last, where, exactly, do you move to when there are no more cheap places to move to? Oh, you might find some place to move to that you can afford, but 99 times out of 100 there won't be any jobs there.

It's not that people want to stay where they are. It's just that sometimes they have no choice.

Also, you have to understand one more thing. The economy might be good, but the fastest growing jobs are mostly minimum wage jobs. If you're a blue collar worker, you're not going to find anything in your field that pays you enough to live on. Those jobs are not growing. So unless you have a college degree and the skills to get you into some tech job, you're out of luck in getting a good paying job, no matter how good the economy is.

[SportyandMisty]

Perhaps they should move to Iowa:

[CaliRestoration]

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

Perhaps they should move to Iowa:

That only works if they are actually seeking employment.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

Perhaps they should move to Iowa:

Apparently it’s too expensive to move according to some on this thread . How many possessions do the homeless or very poor have that they would have to spend a bunch of money to move them ?

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by jm1982

Apparently it’s too expensive to move according to some on this thread . How many possessions do the homeless or very poor have that they would have to spend a bunch of money to move them ?

If you are sleeping on the sidewalk then it's pretty clear that you can't even afford a cheap motel room, so how are they going to move anywhere and if they were to move, and they got a job how would they survive in the 2 or 3 weeks before they get their first paycheck?

It's always been harder for the poor to relocate than for other people. If I want a job in Iowa I can easily fly there for an interview, hire a moving company and pay for a deposit and rent and support myself until I start getting regular paychecks. I'm not sure how a homeless person could do any one of those things.

[CaliRestoration]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

If you are sleeping on the sidewalk then it's pretty clear that you can't even afford a cheap motel room, so how are they going to move anywhere and if they were to move, and they got a job how would they survive in the 2 or 3 weeks before they get their first paycheck?

How do some homeless people fund their drug addictions?

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by CaliRestoration

How do some homeless people fund their drug addictions?

panhandle, sell plasma, sell food stamps, dumpster dive and trade discarded stuff for a $20 bag, etc.

[BB_210]

There's always some issue, "how can you expect a homeless person to move to Iowa"? There are homeless people that work. There's charities that help homeless, they can help connect them to a job and relocate them with a one way bus ticket.

The struggle is real.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by max210

There's always some issue, "how can you expect a homeless person to move to Iowa"? There are homeless people that work. There's charities that help homeless, they can help connect them to a job and relocate them with a one way bus ticket.

The struggle is real.

I am not aware of charities that will buy bus tickets for the homeless unless it is for a prearranged reunification with a family member or friend who has agreed to assist the homeless person. A program like that where another charity at the location where the job is located would provide shelter until the person got their first check would be great but I'm still dubious about how many employers are going to be willing to hire homeless people.

There's a program called "Back on my Feet" that's had some great success with breaking the pattern of homelessness, so far it's in 12 cities.

"Back on My Feet recruits members at homeless and residential facilities around the country and begins with a commitment to run three days a week in the early morning. After 30 days in the program, members with 90% attendance earn the opportunity to move into the second phase of the program called Next Steps, which provides educational support, job training programs, employment partnership referrals and housing resources. Over 80% of individuals who start our program move into the Next Steps phase.

In Next Steps, members work with BoMF program staff to develop a personal road map to independence. Each member attends financial literacy classes and job skills training provided through partnerships with our corporate partners. Members can earn financial assistance to remove barriers to employment and housing such as work supplies, transportation and security deposits. Members who achieve employment and housing become Alumni Members. Within six months of becoming a Back on My Feet Alumnus, 90% of members maintain their employment, 60% receive a wage increase and 20% achieve a promotion."

This link describes the San Francisco "Back on my Feet" program run by the San Francisco Runners Club:

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/artic...g-12766843.php