Housing Advocates Aren’t Surprised By Spike In Homelessness (And Other Headlines)

Despite all the efforts to curb its rise, the number of unhoused people living in Los Angeles County has continued to increase. According to the L.A. Homeless Services Authority, the number of people who reported experiencing homelessness jumped 9% in the last year.

The connection between homelessness rise and recent evictions

Housing advocates said this isn’t surprising. They told my colleague David Wagner they warned government officials a spike like this would happen. COVID-era renter protections came to an end on March 31 but David reported eviction filings started going up last year.

“People are not okay,” said Carla De Paz from the Community Power Collective. “They're not just ready to go back to business as usual. They needed that social safety net to keep them housed as they recover from all the bad impacts of this pandemic."

She notes people are still recovering from illness or the loss of loved ones. Plus, there’s been price inflation of necessary goods and rent spikes.

The connection between renter protections expiring and the increase in homelessness is not entirely clear to everyone. The CEO of the L.A. Housing Service Authority Va Lecia Adams Kellum said, “we’re still scratching our heads a bit,” noting the rise in chronic homelessness, which would not be driven by recent evictions.

My colleague Nick Gerda talked to Yolanda Orellana who lives in a temporary apartment as a part of Mayor Karen Bass’s Inside Safe program. She told him that she sees all kinds of people of all ages and educational backgrounds who are on the streets.

“This is going to continue unless affordable housing is provided,” Orellana said. ”They’re building apartment complexes and we just look at them because you know we’ll never be able to live in them. They’re super super high priced.”

Across the city and the county, the number of people who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness increased by 40% in the last five years. In this years homeless count, more people reported substance abuse and struggles with mental health. Also in the annual count’s findings — more vehicles are being used as shelters.

For more, read Nick’s story for an in-depth breakdown of what LAHSA found in their count of the unhoused population in L.A. and read David’s story for more about the role evictions may have played in those increases. Lastly, Nick also published a guide to understanding homelessness last month. Check that out for insight into how we got to this point.

Stay safe and cool, L.A. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

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Wait! One more thing...

Soak up the sun and have some fun this weekend

About 500,000 people are expected to hit Huntington Beach, seen here during the pandemic in 2020, for the Huntington Beach Pier Festival this weekend.

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APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images

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AFP

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What event has a block party, a carnival and fireworks? It’s the Huntington Beach 4th of July Surf City Soul festival! Take the whole family with you to enjoy a decorating contest, a parade and a cornhole tourney. Huntington Beach calls it the “biggest Fourth of July Parade west of the Mississippi River.” Read more about the FREE.99 event on their website.

If you want a more laid-back, peaceful holiday weekend, attend Tonalism at Descanso on Saturday night. Make sure you bring your pillows and sleeping bags with you so you can fully enjoy your R&R time and listen to La Monte Young and more.

We already mentioned the Anime Expo yesterday, but if you’re looking for a less expensive, smaller comic convention, check out the San Fernando Valley Comic Book Convention at The Mayflower Club. Children under 12-years-old get to attend for free.

Check out the rest of the cool events this holiday weekend in our Best Things To Do This Weekend list.