When you picture a homeless person, do you see a woman?
Though 29% of the homeless population in America are female, 57% report that domestic violence was the immediate cause of their homelessness. More women use shelters citing reasons for abuse than their male counterparts, and more women are left responsible as the sole caregivers for their children. In Los Angeles specifically, the second city in the nation with the highest homeless encampments, one in three homeless people are now women.
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Homelessness is a problem we simply cannot ignore - figuratively and literally.
As a resident of the city of Los Angeles, anytime I cruise down Ventura Blvd., along the beach of Venice, or even through the sky rises of downtown, I am sure to run into someone down on their luck and living on the streets.
It breaks my heart to see the tents, the broken-down RVs, and the unseemly sights, sounds and smells of those unsheltered with not many material things but strongly equipped with the will to survive.
It pains me even more to see the hostility and ridiculous treatment these individuals have to face just trying to survive. They are being scoffed at, being used as wastebaskets, beaten, and humiliated on a daily basis by people who think lesser of them.
Where is the humanity?
I conducted my project on this topic because it is close to home for me and yet I remain equally as shocked and bewildered that the problem still persists despite clear evidence that factors such as high cost of living and low wages remain in place.
For many homeless individuals, their situation is not a choice, and escaping this lifestyle is not as easy as obtaining a job. Housing is the most important piece to reversing homelessness. Without a secure and reliable place to live, shower, eat, and sleep, no one is nourished properly enough to be working.
Women have been excluded from the conversation historically and as such, not much research has been done on the impacts homelessness has on their livelihood including the desire to raise children and simply avoid being harassed on the streets. Being involved as an active member of the Marians Service Organization at Loyola Marymount University, I observed first hand the additional struggles women had to face just because of their gender identity, including catcalling, sexual assault and rape, and in-group patronizing. When homeless women speak, no one listens.
Additionally, we are living in a global pandemic where two of the hardest hit states that are in the top five with the most number of cases, California and New York, also unfortunately have some of the highest rates of homeless individuals - already vulnerable populations.
I wish to get to the bottom of why nothing is being done to end this issue for good, to increase shelters and make access to safe and affordable housing equitable for all.
Absolutely no one should be homeless in a country as wealthy and privileged as the United States, period.
As a resident of the city of Los Angeles, anytime I cruise down Ventura Blvd., along the beach of Venice, or even through the sky rises of downtown, I am sure to run into someone down on their luck and living on the streets.
It breaks my heart to see the tents, the broken-down RVs, and the unseemly sights, sounds and smells of those unsheltered with not many material things but strongly equipped with the will to survive.
It pains me even more to see the hostility and ridiculous treatment these individuals have to face just trying to survive. They are being scoffed at, being used as wastebaskets, beaten, and humiliated on a daily basis by people who think lesser of them.
Where is the humanity?
I conducted my project on this topic because it is close to home for me and yet I remain equally as shocked and bewildered that the problem still persists despite clear evidence that factors such as high cost of living and low wages remain in place.
For many homeless individuals, their situation is not a choice, and escaping this lifestyle is not as easy as obtaining a job. Housing is the most important piece to reversing homelessness. Without a secure and reliable place to live, shower, eat, and sleep, no one is nourished properly enough to be working.
Women have been excluded from the conversation historically and as such, not much research has been done on the impacts homelessness has on their livelihood including the desire to raise children and simply avoid being harassed on the streets. Being involved as an active member of the Marians Service Organization at Loyola Marymount University, I observed first hand the additional struggles women had to face just because of their gender identity, including catcalling, sexual assault and rape, and in-group patronizing. When homeless women speak, no one listens.
Additionally, we are living in a global pandemic where two of the hardest hit states that are in the top five with the most number of cases, California and New York, also unfortunately have some of the highest rates of homeless individuals - already vulnerable populations.
I wish to get to the bottom of why nothing is being done to end this issue for good, to increase shelters and make access to safe and affordable housing equitable for all.
Absolutely no one should be homeless in a country as wealthy and privileged as the United States, period.
Compared to 175,000 public housing units in New York, Los Angeles has less than 10,000. - Coalition For The Homeless
Now, let's humanize the problem.
The Invisible People is a docu-series on YouTube that examines the pain, hardship, and hopelessness that millions face each day as they struggle with homelessness with a goal to shift public perception and to deliver a call to action. Below I've highlighted some heartbreaking stories of women in Los Angeles.
Rockey, a 60-year-old unsheltered woman for over three years, shares the inside of her San Fernando County tent and explains how she makes it as much of a home as possible despite the ongoing threat of assault. "Homeless people work harder than anybody with an eight hour job," Rockey said.
"A bad turn of events brought me here, but I'm just as normal as anyone else," she shared. "We're one paycheck away from being homeless. A lot of people are here by choice because they'd rather spend most of their money on everything else but rent. For myself, I'd rather pay rent than live in a tent." |
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Dakota, a 29-year-old female living on the streets of Venice Beach, is homeless as a result of leaving an abusive relationship. "We constantly have to show ourselves and prove ourselves worthy of being out here or we get kicked off the block," she said in reference to unsheltered women.
"I like being outside... but I don't like the fact that it's a struggle almost everyday. There's some days I just don't want to wake up," Dakota explained. |
Olga was renting a small house before her forced eviction due to being scammed.
She eventually found part-time work cleaning offices in Northridge, an hour long bus ride from her tent. "Imagine getting off of work and your only choice is to come home to a tent in downtown Los Angeles." Olga's only three wishes were for the health and happiness of others. |
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Jennifer is living in a tent in San Fernando Valley after being evicted and losing both of her jobs within three months of each other.
"There's a movie out that I think everyone should see called American History X. It teaches people that being prejudiced is a learned behavior. If people don't know that they're not supposed to like someone or something, they don't," she exclaims. |
This is Arien's third vlog with the Invisible People project, meaning for three years since her first feature she has been living on the streets of Los Angeles. She has been suicidal.
Though from these videos the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) has contacted her and placed her on a housing list, tens of thousands of other individuals are waiting for the same placement. "So they want us to die?, Arien replies to the interviewer's point that Los Angeles has funding for measure H and proposition HHH, but there exists a lack of public support (NIMBY). "This world is full of gold-diggers that only care about what's in my pocketbook." Also, because she is beautiful, Arien shared that people suggest she become a stripper or sell her body for money. She is not willing to degrade herself and her morals simply because of her situation. |
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