Within sight of downtown Los Angeles’ towering, silver skyscrapers live thousands of homeless men and women. They spend their days scavenging for food, a drink, a drug fix, and sometimes all three. Many sleep in tents pitched on sidewalks, or in alleyways in an area known as Skid Row. In its heart, on the corner of San Pedro and East Sixth Street, stands The Midnight Mission, offering hope to those who are ready for help.
Halfway through our tour of The Midnight Mission, David – hefty, clean-shaven, dressed in dark slacks, a long-sleeved shirt and a tie – led me into a gymnasium-size room partitioned into eight by ten feet cubicles. Each has a bed, a small desk and a dresser. “This,” David said, “is where I stay.” He was so well spoken that only then did I realize he was not an employee of The Midnight Mission, but one of its 250 live-in clients.
There are many factors contributing to today’s coast-to-coast rise in homelessness. Chief among them is the scarcity of jobs and of affordable housing. In Los Angeles, the smallest studio apartments start at $1,200 or more per month, making housing unaffordable, even for persons working minimum wage, full-time jobs. In addition, many among the street homeless also struggle with mental health issues, alcoholism, and drug addiction. More…