Here in Los Angeles I see the homeless problems grow every week. The homeless population of Los Angeles was somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 at the last count. I have no idea when that count was taken (some videos that mention this go back to 2005) but I watch the population density increase each month. May, June, July and August have been hard months. There are more folks on the street than ever before and no matter what the media reports about the economy, things are not getting better.
At night I "people count". I do this at the beginning of each month and the end of each month. I have a series of blocks mapped out and try to hit the same places on the same nights of a week during the same hours a few times a month.
Most of the street folks used to be sort of northwest of Union Rescue Mission, The Midnight Mission, LAMP and the Los Angeles Mission. The area of San Pedro Street toward Wall Street to Los Angeles Street between 3rd and 7th.
Numbers in the area noted above had increased but in June there was little activity southwest of San Pedro Street.
In July it the area southwest of San Pedro Street increased in population and in August it increased again about three times in those two months. My grandfather had a laundry business on Gladys where I worked as a teenager. I know my way around the area and have seen the changes.
This area of expansion of the homeless is southeast of San Pedro to Alameda between 8th and South Central Ave. This is the area that is up three times in population.
Towne Avenue between 5th and 7th is a war zone. Very high drug traffic, a lot of violence and girls that will do anything for a dollar. One hit off a crack pipe is $1.
While I walk the streets of Los Angeles there is a gal out there who is all over the map .... literally. This blog entry is intended to be more about her travels and hopefully some of you folks can give her a hand.
Shay Kelley. This is a gal with a lot of heart and spirit. She is part way though her project 50/50 - visit 50 states in 50 weeks.
Update 9/17/10 - Shay posted a new blog entry: http://project5050.posterous.com/
Above - Shay Kelley, her companion Zuzu and her 1984 Ford pickup truck Bubba. Bubba is her mode of transport and most of the time it is her home. I don't think 1984 was exactly a high mileage year for Ford pickups even when they were new. ......
Posts
