Los Angeles county sees homelessness rise 13%, even before the coronavirus impact
Los Angeles county saw an almost 13% jump in its homeless population in a year, an increase that came even before the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic rippled through California and impacted the employment of millions.
As housing advocates and lawmakers across the state prepare for a surge in coronavirus-related homelessness, LA released a summary of its one-night street count in January, tallying the number of homeless people at 66,433. The city itself counted 41,209 homeless people, a 14.2% rise compared to the year before.
The number of homeless seniors age 62 and older experiencing homelessness increased by 20%. Overall, about 28% of the homelesspopulation in the county was sheltered, a small uptick from the 25% the year before. In the city itself, 30% was sheltered, also up from 25% in 2018.
An estimated 82,955 people became homeless in 2019, a 51% increase from the year before. About 64% became housed again on their own, which means on average, 207 people exit homelessness each day while 227 become homeless.
The summary noted that “without institutional racism, there would be 15,000 fewer people experiencing homelessness”, with almost all coming from African American and Native American populations. Black people, who make up just 7.9% of LA county, are four times as likely to experience homelessness. In this year’s homeless count, Black people made up 33.7% of the tally.
About 80% of the unhoused in LA county have lived in the county for more than five years. Of those who have been homeless for less than year, 59% cited economic hardship for the reason they became homeless.
Housing advocates and homeless outreach workers expect that number to rise with the pandemic, without drastic intervention from the local, state and federal governments. California’s unemployment rate hit 15.5% in April, with 2.35m claims processed. In Los Angeles, the unemployment rate reached 19.6% in April. The year before, the unemployment rate was 4.2% in California and 4.5% in LA.
Thousands of tenants across the state have been participating in a rent strike because many cannot afford to pay rent at the moment. Though the governor and multiple jurisdictions have put in place eviction moratoriums during the stay-at-home order, many fear what will happen when the economy reopens more widely and suddenly they have no protection from eviction and then owe thousands in back rent.