One of the reasons why homelessness is a problem in Los Angeles is because the rate of housing keeps increasing. Most of the houses or buildings are being built in the most expensive areas (Woodyard). Building projects in expensive areas wont make the situation any better because what happens to the working-class folks? It will just make the situation worse and then homelessness will continue to increase. Its obvious that if they keep building houses or buildings in expensive areas a lot of people wont get to afford them and it doesnt even help anyone that is on the line of becoming homeless. Also, building homes in rich areas will just attract the people who are wealthy or obviously the people who can afford to pay an expensive place monthly and it doesnt benefit those who dont earn that much of a salary monthly. In an article from La Curbed, Elijah Chiland implies that an analysis taken at UC Berkeley reports that the rent for an apartment in Los Angeles is about $2,500 a month and people who get paid the minimum wage get paid only about $2,297 a month. $2,297 is barely enough to survive and this is one of the reasons why some people are homeless because the cost of rent is ridiculous in the city. In another article, a study claims that Los Angeles has the stateΒs highest poverty rate at 24.3 percent (Blake). Many people cant find affordable housing here anymore and 24.3 percent isnt a pretty number, this can get more severe and wont end great.
Another reason why homelessness is such a big issue is because many homeless people become drug addicts specifically, meth addicts. The use of drugs might take the pain away, but it isnt good for anyone mentally or physically. Lopez in the Los Angeles Times article mentions that many homeless use meth to stay up at night to be aware from robberies and assaults. Its clear that they use drugs because theyre afraid of what the outcome can turn out to be living in the streets. They have to be aware of everything because no one is really safe when they live in the stre
ets since there are always strangers walking past them. In the article, they interviewed a man who was addicted to meth and he stated, No matter how down or how vulnerable or depressed you feel, meth has the tendency to just get rid of all that in a way that drinking or crack cant do. This is the cause why most of the unsheltered in the city use drugs because of depression. Also, in an article in Daily News Elizabeth Chou mentions, But a Los Angeles Times analysis of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Agencys own homeless count data, that was released Monday, pegged the portion of LAs homeless who are affected by& drug addiction at 67%. This is a high amount of homeless people that use drugs this isnt just 0% or even 5% but 67% and its only going to get worse. Meth puts you in one of the deepest holes to climb out of. It rots people from the inside out and absolutely owns their lives, and they will do anything in order to exist on it and pursue it, said Moore. Meth addiction rots people in and out, meaning that their health can be at risk of diseases and the outside of their physical wont look the same as it used to because of the heavy drug. A doctor also mentioned, Crystal meth is a plague for our society She worked at a county jail and saw the disturbing long-term looks for this issue and its not good (Partovi). The homeless problem leads to a bigger problem in society and it clouds itself behind the homeless crisis, which is drugs. According to the LA Times, LAPD Chief Michel Moore told me that generally speaking, opiates are a scourge on the East Coast right now and meth is destroying the West. Production has grown beyond small meth labs in the sticks, Moore said. Now its big business for Mexican cartels and major U.S. gang leaders, in and out of prison. This is a breeding ground for more problems and this will only make the current situation worse than it already is. This is a drug addiction that many homeless have in Los Angeles its not great and we need to fear how this problem will be in the future.