Homeless Population

The walls are bare and the bedroom is still missing a television, but Thomas Simmons couldn't be prouder of his new home. "It's all mine," the 35-year-old says, looking around. "My couch, my bed, my gas stove. It's finally mine. " For nearly a decade, the veteran of Afghanistan lived in homeless shelters and in his car, wandering from Georgia to Nevada to California, his clothes crammed in his trunk and his life in disarray. He was among the estimated 7,400 veterans who are homeless in Los Angeles County — battling post-traumatic stress, substance abuse, alcoholism and mental issues.

The walls are bare and the bedroom is still missing a television, but Thomas Simmons couldn't be prouder of his new home. "It's all mine," the 35-year-old says, looking around. "My couch, my bed, my gas stove. It's finally mine. " For nearly a decade, the veteran of Afghanistan lived in homeless shelters and in his car, wandering from Georgia to Nevada to California, his clothes crammed in his trunk and his life in disarray. He was among the estimated 7,400 veterans who are homeless in Los Angeles County — battling post-traumatic stress, substance abuse, alcoholism and mental issues.

Los Angeles County's homeless population has dropped 38% since 2007, according to a survey conducted earlier this year by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The count, which was conducted over three days in January, pegs the region's homeless population at 42,694 -- down from 68,808 in 2007. "We know that things are changing," said Michael Arnold, executive director of the homeless services authority. "We know, we can sense, we can feel that there's a change out there.

He stood at the gate to his United Airlines flight, ready to head home to Chicago after two years on the streets of Costa Mesa. Jose Zamora might not have been there but for the man standing next to him, who had come to see him off at John Wayne Airport. Julian Trevino, a Costa Mesa police officer, not only helped Zamora get an identification card but also helped him contact a sister to buy the $485 ticket home. Soon Zamora, 50, would rejoin his family and see his granddaughter for the first time.

I am an 85-year-old widow who has lived in Santa Monica for many years. I ride the blue buses to get around town and to Lincoln Park, where there are senior citizen activities. Everywhere I go, I see derelicts. I am afraid of these people, who constantly bother me for money. Can you imagine, they want my Social Security retirement money that I worked hard for! Every year, the problem gets worse in Santa Monica. I read in your paper that changes have been made by the City Council to get these people off our streets, but the problem gets worse.

The number of families seeking emergency shelter has risen dramatically--by an average of 31%--in all but one of 29 major cities over the last two years, and officials of all but two of those cities expect the problem to grow still worse in the year ahead, the U.S. Conference of Mayors reported Saturday. The conference, giving the results of a survey, said that officials of every city cited a dwindling supply of affordable housing as a prime cause of homelessness.

Federal and local officials said Thursday that a new Lancaster shelter will greatly improve efforts to help the growing homeless population of the high desert. Catholic Charities will operate the 40-bed shelter opening Saturday on city-owned land near downtown Lancaster. The city spent about $100,000 on land and construction, but individuals and businesses from throughout the Antelope Valley donated the bulk of the construction funds, about $350,000 in money, labor and materials.

It's known in many circles as a "quiet crisis" -- a surging population of older Americans over the next 15 years. And for those who serve the homeless in Los Angeles, that portends a dramatically worsening situation. The nonprofit Shelter Partnership spent the last two years studying the plight of Los Angeles County's homeless elderly -- a population, it concluded, of 3,000 to 4,000. The study, which is being released today, marks the first time that the region's elderly homeless population has been studied.

The homeless and their advocates were left out in the cold this week when the Santa Monica City Council backed a plan to close Palisades Park at night, ostensibly to reduce drug traffic there. By a 5-2 vote Monday, the council ordered the city attorney's office to draft an ordinance to close the cliff-top park from midnight to 5 a.m., dealing a harsh blow to the many people who sleep there.

How much carrot and how much stick? In the coming weeks, Santa Monica will attempt to put together a comprehensive policy for dealing with its large, unruly and desperately poor homeless population. It is a defining moment for a city whose commitment to helping those in need is unmatched almost anywhere in the country.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is working with local government officials and nonprofits to get the 60 most vulnerable homeless veterans off the streets of Los Angeles County in two years, officials said Wednesday. Modeled after the county's Project 50 on skid row, the pilot project offers chronically homeless veterans a permanent home in the hope that they will accept medical treatment, mental health counseling, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, job training or other services.

Dozens of elected officials, law enforcement representatives, social service and housing providers, philanthropists and community leaders pledged support Wednesday for a plan that aims to get all homeless veterans and the chronically homeless off the streets of Los Angeles County within five years. The ambitious plan, released by a group of business leaders Nov. 9, is the latest of numerous initiatives to reduce the county's homeless population, which numbers more than 48,000 on any given day. It proposes reallocating about $230 million in existing resources each year to pay for a rapid increase in permanent supportive housing, which includes counseling and treatment, for the most hard-core street dwellers.

Los Angeles remains the nation's homelessness capital, with almost 48,000 people living around the county on streets, in cars and in shelters, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority. About a fourth of them are chronically homeless, burdened in many cases by physical and mental ailments that make it hard for them to reintegrate into society. The magnitude and intractability of the problem haven't stopped policymakers and homeless advocates from offering plan after plan for improving the situation, but none has made much of a dent in the homeless population.

Foreclosure battle Re "Fighting her parents' foreclosure in court," Aug. 5 It's not often that something truly inspirational appears in the news these days, but the dedication and abilities of Zeenat Ali — the former medical student who has singlehandedly fought Deutsche Bank to save her parents' Diamond Bar home from foreclosure — have restored an exhilaration not felt in years. Brava, Zee! The law may not necessarily be on your (moral) side, but you'll always inspire us by doing what is right.

Time was when "beach bum" was a phrase of endearment in laid-back Ocean Beach. No more. This normally quiet neighborhood is being torn by a dispute over the recent emergence of a beach subculture of unkempt young males sleeping in doorways, urinating in public places and panhandling aggressively. The flash point was the appearance of bumper stickers proclaiming: "Welcome To Ocean Beach. Please Don't Feed Our Bums." The stickers — sold at a local landmark business, The Black, better known for the sale of bongs, posters and jewelry — are flying off the shelves and cropping up on shop windows and cars around town.

An L.A. city-county report showing a 38% drop in the homeless population has been met with consternation by the region's homeless service providers, who say the findings are inaccurate and could hurt their fundraising efforts at a time when the need is great. The providers have written newspaper opinion pieces, public letters, blog postings and Tweets -- all taking issue with the census, conducted over three days in January. The study found that the number of homeless in the region dropped from 68,808 in 2007 to 42,694.

Although many cities have complained that their homeless populations were undercounted in the 1990 U.S. Census, Pasadena is one of the few that have decided to do something about it. On Wednesday, the city will send 25 teams, each including a homeless person, onto the city's streets to gather what officials hope will be a more accurate count. The 1990 Census found 234 homeless people in Pasadena, a city of 135,000. Of those, 14 were counted on the street, the balance in homeless shelters.

An L.A. city-county report showing a 38% drop in the homeless population has been met with consternation by the region's homeless service providers, who say the findings are inaccurate and could hurt their fundraising efforts at a time when the need is great. The providers have written newspaper opinion pieces, public letters, blog postings and Tweets -- all taking issue with the census, conducted over three days in January. The study found that the number of homeless in the region dropped from 68,808 in 2007 to 42,694.

Los Angeles County's homeless population has dropped 38% since 2007, according to a survey conducted earlier this year by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The count, which was conducted over three days in January, pegs the region's homeless population at 42,694 -- down from 68,808 in 2007. "We know that things are changing," said Michael Arnold, executive director of the homeless services authority. "We know, we can sense, we can feel that there's a change out there.

Re "L.A. housing plan to be unveiled," Sept. 28 Given today's economic climate, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's vision to expand the availability of homes that are affordable to all Angelenos is all the more crucial. More than ever, we need affordable homes. This is no longer just an issue about the homeless but about all of us, who may find ourselves in harder times with reduced choices. We need to ensure that everyone has access to a home so that those teetering on the brink don't slip off and swell the largest homeless population in the U.S. We will not be able to grow our economy or become a world-class city if workers don't have a place to live and those facing hard times end up on the streets.