Friday, January 26, 2007
Homeless vs Skid Row Residency
I applaud Meredith Vieira and the NBC “Today Show” on their update of homeless issues in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles yesterday. Please check out this link.
This piece points out an issue that we must not overlook in our attempts to end homelessness. People may not be technically “homeless” per the National Alliance to End Homelessness study of 2005, but they don’t really have a home. They may qualify as sheltered homeless if they reside in transitional housing. They were at one time homeless living at a mission.
What they do is exist in a section of Los Angeles that is really not suitable for children. But there are high-end lofts and other residences nearby, and renovations continue creeping into the area. If, under these circumstances, urban living is acceptable – then could this become a neighborhood of hope? And even more importantly, should it be?
This out of sight, out of mind, attitude is not limited to Skid Row Los Angeles. All across the Southland there are communities where families are living inside a building but in an area where provisions such as education, transportation, social services and jobs are sorely lacking.
At the Los Angeles Mission we deal primarily with those defined as “homeless” but we are also trying to serve the “near” homeless whenever and wherever we can.
--Herb Smith, President
This piece points out an issue that we must not overlook in our attempts to end homelessness. People may not be technically “homeless” per the National Alliance to End Homelessness study of 2005, but they don’t really have a home. They may qualify as sheltered homeless if they reside in transitional housing. They were at one time homeless living at a mission.
What they do is exist in a section of Los Angeles that is really not suitable for children. But there are high-end lofts and other residences nearby, and renovations continue creeping into the area. If, under these circumstances, urban living is acceptable – then could this become a neighborhood of hope? And even more importantly, should it be?
This out of sight, out of mind, attitude is not limited to Skid Row Los Angeles. All across the Southland there are communities where families are living inside a building but in an area where provisions such as education, transportation, social services and jobs are sorely lacking.
At the Los Angeles Mission we deal primarily with those defined as “homeless” but we are also trying to serve the “near” homeless whenever and wherever we can.
--Herb Smith, President
