Results tagged “homeless”

Gobble Gobble Give began ten years ago, when Echo Park's Barry Walker set out to cook and deliver Turkey Day meals to the homeless in his neighborhood. Now every year he's joined by others who want to help out, and the event is not only growing each year, but continuing to demonstrate how powerful a community can be in creating change. For this Thanksgiving, Gobble Gobble Give is looking for volunteers on every level who can give food, money, or clothing and those who can donate their time on Turkey day by cooking, warming, packaging and delivering food to the homeless in Echo Park and Downtown LA. Every little bit helps those in need!

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times claims that the rate of homelessness in L.A. County has dropped 38% since 2007. Despite the somewhat promising numbers, Los Angeles continues to sustain the largest homeless population in the United States, along with the unfortunate status as “homelessness capital” of the country. In the face of this dire situation stands a robust little warrior, the two-year-old non-profit organization Imagine LA, whose central idea is to match each of the 8,000 homeless families in Los Angeles with one of its 8,000 faith communities.

In 1993, after reading a book about homelessness, LA-resident Agnes Stevenson started teaching kids in a park in Santa Monica. From this book she learned that hundreds of thousands of children in the US do not attend school due to homelessness. And School on Wheels was born.

A two-year study between the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and USC's Center for Community Health Studies and Housing found that housing the homeless is about $80,000 cheaper than leaving them on the streets. The survey found that taxpayers spent $187,288 a year those living on the streets because of their use of hospitals, jails and clinics. Putting people in permanent housing costs $107,032.

A crash between two vehicles left an apparent transient dead this morning during rush hour in North Hollywood. Around 7:53 a.m., the vehicles traveling eastbound on the 134 freeway collided, leaving the freeway over the side where an encampment was set up behind the McDonalds at Riverside Drive and Lankershim Boulevard. "He just happened to be there at the wrong place at the wrong time," explained California Highway Patrol Officer Miguel Luevano over the phone.

It's currently against the law to make a home of your car in Long Beach, but a proposal due to be discussed come September 1st at the City Council meeting would create "a new law that would allow "economic refugees" to legally sleep" in their vehicles, according to the Press-Telegram.

Earlier this year when Venice residents were fed up with the vehicular homeless taking up the streets with RVs and allegedly dumping water illegally onto lawns and into the streets, the local neighborhood council held an election, ultimately approving overnight parking districts that would limit such activity. But the true legal authority in the manner was the California Coastal Commission who balked, voting against the proposal saying it was not there place to decide on social issues.

A 67-year-old homeless man was found dead over the weekend at a downtown homeless encampment with his throat slashed and his eyes gouged out. Police say another homeless man, 50-year-old Timothy Bishop, killed Robert Burrus. A witness saw Bishop on top of Burrus Friday night but did not realize what happened until the next morning when the dead body was found. “I’m not surprised the witness came forward so quickly,” Lt. Paul Vernon, head of detectives for the Central Police Station, said in a statement. “We’ve seen it time and again, that in spite of their condition, many of the homeless downtown still have a sense of pride among them that they are willing to come forward and report crimes. We solve more murders downtown because of it.” Police believe Bishop slashed Burris's throat with a broken bottle and gouged his eyes out so that he would not be identified later. This was the fourth downtown murder in 2009.

A report released yesterday ranked Los Angeles number one out of 273 cities for the treatment of homeless populations. "Homes Not Handcuffs: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities" by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless highlights the Safer Cities Initiative--which has spent $6 million on extra police in Skid Row--as a program that traps homeless in the criminal justice system rather than housing.

it's been a long battle between permanent residents and the new mobile permanent residents of Venice. With the streets filling up with RVs and some allegedly dumping water waste (in the literal sense, too), on lawns and into the streets, residents wanted to limit the amount of overnight and RV parking in the neighborhood. It's what the residents ultimately voted for and what California Coastal Commission staffed urged. Nonetheless, Commission members voted against restrictions, saying it was not their "job to be the balance between homeless and residents.” Therefore, RVs stay put for now. We posted a good "catching up" video on this subject a couple weeks ago.

Venice attracts a lot of people and has always had a number of vehicular homeless along its streets. More recently, thanks to the economy, the number of RVs, minivans and other vehicles housing people without a traditional home, have increased so much, that residents want to create overnight parking districts, effectively eliminating the problem... well, from their neighborhood, at least. KCET's SoCal Connected explored the issue last week in this above segment.

       

After LAist exposed the Orange Line's bike path as a mini skid row (and followed up on by the Daily News), the city finally got down to work this past weekend when police from the Van Nuys Division, volunteers and those filling community service by court order all met to clean the path between Hazeltine and Van Nuys Boulevard.

              

Man, downtown is kickass. Yeah, you've seen the great theatre and the wonderful eats and the art walk, but you've probably also thought about the homeless population, or the proclivity for violence in the face of an economic abyss. And while all of these things, in their own way, are true about downtown, things like the Grammy Museum are really helping to elevate the standard while keeping an eye on what’s important in their neighborhood.

Last year, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority saw 330 families seek help in their winter shelter program, which gives vouchers for motel or hotel stays. This year? That number nearly doubled to 620 families, reported the Daily News. As the economy worsened over the last year, foreclosures, evictions, job loss all played a hand in this. One shelter in Culver City saw the numbers increase 10 times that of last year--from 4 to 43. Individual homeless numbers also grew, but only by 4%.

On Sunday morning, a 20-year-old male hispanic transient was shot on the 1200 block of Lyman Place in East Hollywood. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to LAPD Officer Karen Smith. His story is just one of many where transients are victims of crime.

The Venice Neighborhood Council, a group of elected volunteers under the auspices of the city, is becoming one of the more well known groups within the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. Recently, they've taken on overnight parking drawing the attention of mainstream media and blogs. Via their e-mail newsletter, here's what the progressive group is doing next week:

Tonight's monthly Skid Row neighorhood watch walk will include a trip to the LAPD Central City Division Police Station for a look at just how the district is using these cameras to reduce crime and increase safety in the area. In 2006, the Central City East Association's Downtown Industrial Business Improvement District installed the cameras.

In late January, around 250 volunteers combed through Santa Monica block by block through all 19 of the city's census tracts--a total of 226 linear miles--counting the homeless. The end result, announced last night in a public meeting, was that there are around 915 homeless in the city.

Today, over 20 people from various city departments, nonprofits and volunteer groups met to find a long-term solution to keeping the Orange Line bicycle in path in Van Nuys clear of transients and landscaping from growing onto the path. LAist first reported on the dire conditions of the bike path to which the Daily News picked up on.

At the Homeless Count event last week, we happened to meet Daily News writer Dana Bartholomew who became interested in our photos from last week about the Orange Line bike path turning into a little skid row of its own. Soon after, his article: "As Los Angeles County volunteers completed the largest homeless count in the nation last week, many pointed out the trail of refuse left by transients between Sepulveda Boulevard and Hazeltine Avenue and beyond.A warren of sleeping holes littered with soggy clothes, weathered blankets, excrement and condoms dot chest-high brush along the path.In plain view lay a mattress and 50 feet of trash where some say homeless immigrants like to party after finishing their day-labor jobs. Plastic bags and other refuse line the trans-San Fernando Valley route. In spots, weeds eat up the pedestrian portion of the path." Also: Daily News writes an editorial on expanding the bicycle locker program in the Valley.

       

Census Tract 1210.20 has no homeless. That's at least how it was on Tuesday night, the first of three nights of the Los Angeles Homeless Count, which is mandated every two years in order for the LA Homeless Services Authority to keep their federal funding.

The 2009 Los Angeles Homeless Count began last night, primarily covering the Westside including Venice, Santa Monica and West LA. One-hundred or so volunteers of all ages met in Culver City to split into teams and receive instructions on how to properly count.

       

What was a solution to prevent graffiti tagging on soundwalls became a problem as transients moved in. When Metro's Orange Line opened in 2005, the bike path walls had little growth around them, leaving them as a blank canvas for graffiti. Landscaping was planted to discourage tagging and it was a success for the most part, but when you have space and shrubbery, it also become shelter. As seen here, many have made it their home.

Benjamin Mathew Martin, 30, was arrested today out in Riverside County by LAPD detectives for the October 9th brutal murder of John Robert McGraham, a homeless man who resided on West 3rd Street. McGraham was doused in an accelerant--probably gasoline--and then lit on fire. Martin is suspected of leaving behind a red plastic gasoline container, which was a key piece of forensic evidence, announced police this afternoon.

For Moira Nordholt, who is known online as the Feel Good Guru, her Christmas day food coma comes around 2 p.m. The presents are open and the everyone has eaten, the day is over, right? Not for her this year.

              

When it comes to Skid Row's largest Christmas toy party, some wait over ten hours in line; some wait over night. Fred Jordan Missions' 65th annual Family Christmas Celebration was last Sunday and it brought out the masses, with smiles in tow.

1 in every 9 homeless people in the United States live in Los Angeles County, and just this past year, 393 of them died. The Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness (LACEHH), along with other advocacy and service organizations, are holding candlelight vigils to memorialize those who died, and thousands across the country are doing the same, for the National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day. In Santa Monica, a vigil is planned for 4:00 p.m. at the 3rd Street Promenade, just south of Arizona Avenue. And in Studio City, a vigil at the same time will be held at Laurel Canyon and Ventura Boulevard. At both events,which will last one hour and a half, the names of the 393 dead will be read aloud, followed by the word "Presente" which means "here" or "present" in Spanish. Candles will be provided.

In a weird settlement between the ACLU and the LAPD, the LA City Council approved a ban that says officers patrolling Skid Row cannot conduct unconstitutional searches of homeless individuals. While breaking the law is a given no-no for police, it all stems from a difference of opinion on the interpretation of the Constitution. In this case, a federal judge sided with the people saying the LAPD was being too aggressive in their shakedown of Skid Row residents. "We agree to disagree," Capt. Jodi Wakefield told the LA Times. "But there's nothing wrong with us going back and making sure that our officers clearly understand the Constitution, and all the laws they have to abide by. I feel confident they do."

This year, Santa Monica began to inventory their resident homeless population to find the most vulnerable and high-risk in order to begin intensive services and help get them off the street. 131 were found and so far, 51 one of them are off the streets as of November. 18 of those are now in permanent housing (14%) and the other 33 (25%) are in temporary housing. Another homeless census is coming up in January and Santa Monica is looking for volunteers. For more details on volunteering, check here.

Noe Rodriguez, a 21-year-old man with several identities and is a federal deportee, is wanted for a shooting death of a homeless man, the LAPD announced today. A week ago tonight in a Venice alley, Rodriguez allegedly shot the homeless man, whose identity has not been released, with a large caliber gun before riding away on a bicycle. Rodriguez' has no listed address and is still at large. Homicide detectives are not releasing how information on how they determined him to be a suspect.