Homeless is an enormous and seemingly intractable crisis facing our city. It has left an undeniable impact on the livelihoods of individuals and families from the Harbor to the Valley. It has also touched countless families across the nation. As families fight every day to survive, the struggle to provide the basic necessities of a home, food and healthcare continues.
In Los Angeles, we have made it our priority to come up with a holistic strategy to address homelessness in our community and get people off the streets and into homes with the services and resources they need to thrive. While we continue to work on our long-term approach, we can also take action to provide relief for people in need right now.
Every year, I'm proud to host a service day in the East San Fernando Valley that connects homeless individuals and families with organizations and resources to help them with their needs. This year, my staff and a large group of community organizations and government agencies helped nearly 200 people during our Homeless Connect Day. Here's a snapshot of what we accomplished:
Steven came to Los Angeles about three months ago after his work dried up back in his home state of Texas. He'd already been down a rough road in life, so he and his then-pregnant wife packed up their two elementary school age kids and headed West to find jobs and start turning their life around. When they got here, they found that jobs and homes were hard to come by. Now, he's barely getting by on recycling, but he hasn't really been able to figure out where to go for help here and how to pull it all together. Neither he nor his wife had ID, so they haven't been able to get any benefits.
To see the photos from this year's Homeless Connect Day, click here: flic.kr/s/aHskxPdtVk.
If you want to participate in our community work or have ideas you'd like to share, please contact me by email: [email protected] or phone: 213-473-7002.