L.A. seeing more people living out of their cars

[devilgrrl]

By CHRISTINA HOAG (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
June 23, 2008 1:58 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES - Having lost her job and her three-bedroom house, Darlene Knoll has joined the legions of downwardly mobile who are four wheels away from homelessness.

She is living out of her shabby 1978 RV, and every night she has to look for a place to park where she won't get hassled by the cops or insulted by residents.

"I'm not a piece of trash," the former home health-care aide said as she stroked one of five dogs in her cramped quarters parked in the waterfront community of Marina del Rey.

Amid the foreclosure crisis and the shaky economy, some California cities are seeing an increase in the number of people living out of their cars, vans or RVs.

Acting on complaints from homeowners, the Los Angeles City Council got tough earlier this year by forbidding nearly all overnight parking in residential neighborhoods such as South Brentwood.

But some people are just crowding into other parts of the city, including the seaside community of Venice, where dozens of rusty, dilapidated campers can be seen lined up outside neat single-family homes. The stench of urine emanates from a few of the vehicles, and some residents say they have seen human waste left behind.

"They're nasty and gnarly," said Venice resident Jeff Scharlin. "We've heard about drug dealing and prostitution in them. I've never seen it, but visually they're a blight and they take up parking space."

more: http://enews.earthlink.net/article/nat?guid=20080623/485f1fc0_3422_1334620080623-1747026829

[Booster]

1. Ironic that you should post this story. My best friend called on

Saturday and said since it was 112 degrees, whe wanted to buy water and pass out bottles to the homeless in L.A. We bought the water (a lot of it) and started out. Our first homeless person was so downtrodden we decided not only to give him water but to buy him something to eat also. He apparently couldn't speak, but he smiled and when we drove by later he was eating the meal. Our next encounter had an obvious mental problem because as we passed him and pulled over to back up to give him water, he picked up a really large brick and threatened us with it. All in all we only handed out 5 bottles of water, so I wouldn't call that a successful day. I guess my point is in trying to do a good deed, please be careful.

[cliss]

2. As if it wasn't bad enough -

I made a trip to Santa Monica about 5 years ago. Walked down to the beach. In order to get to the beach, you have to walk through a park area, with grass and shady palm trees. Absolutely beautiful.

Except for the fact that on every square inch, you had people sleeping on the grass. A few dogs here and there. It looked like a battle field, with hundreds of fatalities, as far as the eye could see all the way down the boardwalk.

It was shocking. Then around mid-afternoon, all these hundreds of homeless people woke up.

And this was BEFORE things deteriorated. Just imagine what it must be like now.

[tishaLA]

3. The tone of this article is disappointing.

On the one hand, it points out that 'average" people now feel the pain of homelessness because of the worsening economy, the mortgage crisis, etc. And, on the other, it appeals to the worst in people--the "stench of urine," rumors of (but not witnesses to) "drug dealing and prostitution," and, the highest crime of all in LA, taking up parking spaces!

These two narratives are simply incompatible. It is true that Venice has a large number of homeless people who often take drugs and prostitute themselves. But these are not the people living in RVs. The people living in RVs are typically people who hang onto them as the last bit of their dignity, the last thing they own, and the last thing that gives them any kind of freedom in a society that has let them down.

And let's be clear here: the first sentence is wrong. These people aren't four wheels away from homelessness. They ARE homeless, and they just have a way of hiding it. How about, instead of bitching about the stench of urine coming from the "shabby" RVs, we instead concentrate on helping these people get permanent affordable housing? It would help both the homeowners and the homeless.

[lonestarnot]

4. You tell 'em!

:applause: Fucking A what is wrong with people!