HOMELESS CRISIS IN LOS ANGELES, MEXICO’S
SECOND LARGEST
CITY, WORSENS BY THE DAY…. Approximates the great depression
http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2017/11/homeless-crisis-in-mexicos-second.html
“This could be anyone tomorrow”
Anaheim, California: Homeless encampment residents speak on their
conditions
By Adam Mclean, Kevin Martinez and Kimie Saito
29 January 2018
A December Housing and Urban Development report detailed a net
increase in homelessness in the US for the first time in seven years. While
homelessness in the US—and in California in particular, with some 114,000
homeless in the state—has exploded in the last several years, there is little
official work to alleviate the conditions of the thousands who have been
abandoned.
Rather, the issue is dealt with only to the extent that it affects
the interests of the wealthy, and in such a manner that is only considerate of
those interests. This is the case with an Anaheim, California homeless
encampment, which sits on the Santa Ana riverbed next to Anaheim’s Major League
Baseball stadium. The stadium generates more than $1 million per year in taxes
alone and is owned by Disney, which has also received long-term tax exemptions
from the city to renovate Disneyland resort hotels.
Rather than offering equal charity to those living on the
riverbed, the city has started a “slow and methodical” drive to shut down the
encampment. The city is asking for “voluntary compliance” in vacating the
encampment, but failing that has threatened to escalate this drive.
WSWS reporters spoke to residents about their conditions in the
encampment and ensuing removal. The general picture that emerges is that
residents are predominantly working class, but most have suffered certain
financial shocks—often due to health issues—that they have been unable to bear,
and find themselves on the street. This, combined with an already high cost of
living and unaffordable housing in the area, exacerbates homelessness.
Typical was Cher Stuckman’s case. She had previously worked as an
administrative assistant in a hospital and later as a nanny, but after
suffering from a stroke and from chronic seizures, and after supporting her
daughter’s own illness, was unable to afford to keep a roof over her head.
"They treat their homeless like s***, like we’re second class
citizens, like we’re not worth anything," Stuckman noted. "We are
worth something. We all have a trade that we can do, but for whatever reason
can’t do it. There are very few people down here who are just bums. Very few …
There’s a misconception that everyone down here does drugs. That’s wrong. I
mean, people are people. There’s some use, sure, but it’s not extreme.
“There’s not any affordable housing in Orange County. I was born
and raised out here and look how I’m treated. I pay my taxes. I’ve worked since
I was 13 years old. I’m going to be 60 this year. How many years of work is
that?
“I’d like to see any of the people who are trying to push us
out—I’d like to see them live homeless. It’s not fun. It’s possible, but it’s
not fun. No one wants this. You make do with what you have.”
In the encampment Stuckman met her partner, previously a tow truck
driver for many years, who has helped take care of her health.
Denise, a middle-aged woman in a wheelchair, said that it was
impossible for her to get a job because of her disability. Pointing to
apartments behind her, she said, “This could be them tomorrow. This could be
anyone tomorrow.”
A good number of those in the encampment are still working. A
young worker named Jeremy said, “I used to work on the tugboats in New Orleans.
Then I came to California and worked out here on the water. But then I got laid
off. What I do now is I wash windows at the gas station. I’ve been doing that
for several weeks now, every day, for free. I work for tips.”
Victor, who had previously owned a painting business, talked about
the difficultly in recovering from homelessness. “People aren’t all here
because of drugs and alcohol. They come here and become alcoholics. There are
plenty of people that don’t belong here. They come here when they have nowhere
else to go.
“A lot of people have jobs, but it’s hard to get them. You walk
into a place with an application, and you haven’t showered, you’re dirty,
you’re already feeling self-conscious about yourself. you’re not going to get a
job when there are three or four other guys, clean-shaven coming from home,
that you have to compete with.”
While some in the encampment accepted the actions of the police,
others were more suspicious. One man reported police throwing belongings into a
compactor when their owner wasn’t there to claim them, saying it was trash that
needed to be cleaned up. Another told an anecdote about a friend who received
several tickets for minor violations like not having a flasher on his bike, and
subsequently being told by the officer “You’re from the riverbed right? Go back
there and spread the word.” He called the aggressive ticketing a form of
harassment.
Donovan Farrow, a veteran and independent contractor who has done
electrical, dry wall, and framing work, described getting mixed messages from
the police. “Usually the sheriff deputies will talk with us nicely. Some of
them even brought us hamburgers. And then the Anaheim PD [Police Department]
will come along and start pulling on my tent.
“They’ve already taken away items of mine, even though I did exactly
as they said: ‘separate the trash from personal items.’ They threw away my
harmonicas, my personal collection! Soon after that the sheriff’s department
came around and the guy told me, ‘You did a good job of composing yourself.’
That was nice to hear. But less than a half hour later, Anaheim PD is pushing
me.”
Residents’ attitudes toward their looming expulsion, and to their
general conditions, was one of frustration. Some made note of the massive
inequality that characterizes the US.
Donovan said plainly that “the problem is American capitalism.
They control the oil. They control the food. They control the pharmaceuticals.
They control everything.”
Jessie, a retired engraver, commented, “There’s no middle class
anymore. It’s like you’re either poor or rich. There’s not much room for people
in between. That’s not the way this country is supposed to be. It’s supposed to
be equal for everybody. We’re getting away from the ideals on which the country
was built if we’re not taking care of the people who help make the country. The
people who are working in the factories, not the politicians, the people who
actually make the stuff, they’re the ones being squeezed out.”
Victor brought up the question of war: “The president, the hell
with the president. Getting us into situations we don’t need to be in. I mean,
if he went to war today, I would not wave the flag. Not behind Trump.”
Drug
Rehab Centers are Fueling Homeless Epidemic in California
http://www.breitbart.com/california/2017/12/19/drug-rehab-centers-are-fueling-homelessness-in-california/
Drug rehabilitation or “rehab” centers are increasingly being seen
as a contributing factor in the homeless epidemic that has swept across
the Golden State.
Drug
Rehab Centers are Fueling Homeless Epidemic in California
http://www.breitbart.com/california/2017/12/19/drug-rehab-centers-are-fueling-homelessness-in-california/
Kevork
Djansezian/Getty Images
Drug rehabilitation or “rehab” centers are increasingly being seen
as a contributing factor in the homeless epidemic that has swept across
the Golden State.
“There’s
evidence to suggest a portion of the growth [of homelessness] in some Orange
County cities, and to a lesser degree in Los Angeles, can be attributed to the
rehab industry’s aggressive recruitment of addicts – and their lucrative
insurance payments – from around the country,” the Orange
County Register noted in a recent article.
The issue rests in the fact that the drug rehab centers’
business models actually wind up leaving addicts stranded on the streets. The
rehab model is also highly lucrative, bringing in hundreds of thousands to
millions of dollars per year.
Often, once a patient’s insurance money runs out, rehab homes
and facilities will kick him or her out on the street, which results in
relapse and, often, homelessness.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 60
percent of people who receive drug rehabilitation will relapse. Many of these
individuals wind up homeless.
The
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency estimates that over 23 million Americans (age 12 and older)
are addicted to alcohol and other drugs. According to the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), just under 11% (2.5
million)
received care at an addiction treatment facility in 2012. SAMHSA also estimates
that the market for addiction treatment is about $35 billion per year.
According to Los Angeles County’s annual homeless count, the
region’s homeless population has grown 23 percent since 2016. The study
also found that the number of homeless people in L.A. County whose last
residence was out of state increased by 21 percent.
The Register points out that in
Florida, there is a strong link between rehab and drug-treatment facilities and
homelessness, and particularly in Palm Beach County, where government
counts reportedly found a 73 percent increase over the past two years in the
number of homeless youth between the ages of 18 and 24.
“The (rehab
patients) are not going back home to the Northeast,” Palm Beach County State
Attorney Dave Aronberg, who leads the county’s Sober Home Task Force, told
the Register. “The
incentives are too great to remain here: the free rent, the free
transportation, the lifestyle. They’ve set up these individuals for failure.”
Adelle
Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News.
Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
Homeless man found
dead in donation bin in San Diego, California
By Kevin
Martinez
18 December 2017
A man was found dead in a bin used for
clothing donations in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego, California
last Friday. Police were called to the scene around 7:15 a.m., a few blocks
away from the San Diego Police Department’s (SDPD) Multi-Cultural Community
Relations building.
Authorities say the man was in his 40s
and appeared to be homeless. Foul play was not suspected in his death and it is
unclear how long he was stuck in the bin before he died. The man may have been
trying to get warm clothing before he suffocated to death.
The man’s name has not been released,
but local news media spoke with a woman at the scene who say the man was a
friend of those who lived in a nearby homeless encampment.
The donation bin where the man was
discovered was marked “Clothing & Shoes” and was located in a shopping
center parking lot one block away from the San Diego Rescue Mission, a homeless
shelter.
The number of homeless deaths has
increased significantly over the last several years in the city. At least 117
homeless people died on the streets of San Diego last year, according to the
San Diego Rescue Mission. That number does not include those lost to the
Hepatitis A outbreak, which killed 20, mostly homeless individuals. The year
before there were 90 deaths on the streets of America’s “finest city,” and in
2014 there 56 deaths.
Some of last year’s casualties included
a 21-year-old who overdosed on heroin and a 62-year-old who died from an
accident that caused blunt force injuries to his head. Of the 117 deaths
listed, 26 were in their 60s.
San Diego has the fourth largest
homeless population in the United States, with an estimated 9,160 people
homeless on any given night, according to a report by the Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD). Only New York City, Los Angeles County and
Seattle/ King County in Washington had larger homeless populations.
During a one-night count in January, the
number of homeless actually increased by 0.7 percent to 553,742 people over the
previous year. This marks the first year-over-year increase in the national
homeless population since 2010. In California, the number increased by 13.7
percent to 134,278, which means out of every 10,000 Californians, 34 are
homeless. In San Diego, the number increased by 5 percent.
Homelessness has largely increased due
to the lack of affordable housing and little or no government assistance to
prevent people from sliding into poverty. Especially on the West Coast, where
rent rises faster than the average paycheck, those who face the prospect of
losing shelter have little or no recourse than staying with friends or in
vehicles, or on the streets.
While nationwide, the number of homeless
living unsheltered in tents, cars and on the street is 35 percent, in San Diego
the number is 61.6 percent. Statewide, California has the highest rate of
unsheltered homeless in the US with 68.2 percent of the homeless population
unsheltered.
RVs Become Only Housing Option
for Many in Unaffordable San Francisco
Housing prices and the homeless epidemic in Northern California are two
factors that have contributed to what is being described as a “crisis” in which
trailers and recreational vehicles (RVs) have become the only viable option for
residents of the Bay Area.
“We’ve never
seen it like this,” Tom Myers, executive director of Community Services Agency
of Mountain View, told the San Jose Mercury News. “We have to be prepared
that this will be the new normal for us. It’s a crisis.” According to the
publication, San Francisco averages more than three complaints a day about RV
communities.
“I
have to do whatever I have to do,” Robert Ramirez, 54, who lives on lives on
government assistance and collecting recyclable items, told the Mercury News. He has been living
in his RV for six months. He is currently in San Jose but will likely be asked
to move in a short amount of time.
The
median cost of a two-bedroom apartment is approximately $2,500 in San Jose and
$2,200 in Oakland.
RV
residents, while they do not consider themselves homeless, are reportedly often
included in overall homeless counts. Since 2015, the number of homeless people
has jumped to nearly 40 percent.
The
stretch along South 7th Street in San Jose has become an RV haven for people
who cannot afford the city’s skyrocketing rents.
During
her annual State of the City address last month, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf
called on her constituents to open their doors and residences to the city’s
homeless. “Give up that Airbnb. Fix up that back unit,” Schaff reportedly said.
In
2015, SF Weekly noted: “Although it’s illegal to
inhabit a vehicle in San Francisco between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., police rarely
enforce that law.”
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for
Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
"Shielding American workers from
foreign competition gave rise to the middle class which, in turn, created the
"American Dream."
"The US jobs report for November,
released Friday, provides
further evidence that the much vaunted economic “recovery”
in the United States has overwhelmingly benefited Wall
Street, whose stock bonanza is based above all on stagnant
wages and the destruction of working-class living standards."
JOE LEGAL v LA RAZA JOSE ILLEGAL
Here’s how it breaks down; will make you
want to be an illegal!
THE
DEVASTATING COST OF MEXICO’S WELFARE STATE IN AMERICA’S OPEN BORDERS
Will Trump’s Amnesty double these figures?
Wages remain
mostly stagnant despite unemployment hitting new lows
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