How can cities deal with the seemingly intractable issue of homelessness? It’s a national disgrace, most visible in the Far West, from Vancouver down to San Diego and in every city of size in between.
What’s being done (and what’s not), as well as where solutions seem in sight, are covered in the Saving the City documentary series about how to make cities better places.
We filmed on Skid Row in Los Angeles, perhaps the most dystopian neighborhood in North America, and plan to compare the LA experience with that in Houston, where the number of people on the streets has been cut in half. We’ll also be adding a third city for another perspective, so any good ideas of where we should go are welcome.
One illuminating statistic is when homeless counts are reported, they are only a snapshot in time. Up to three times as many people experience some degree of homelessness over the course of a year than are out on the streets on a given day, as people fall in and out of being unsheltered all the time.
Another issue is how do we shut off the pipeline? Even if we figure out how to help those on the streets now, how do we keep others from replacing them?
There are no easy answers, but most agree it will take a combination of more affordable housing and increased social service offerings (especially in mental health). Another critical component, but not as much discussed, is better data management to assess who is being served, by whom, and what works and what doesn’t at what cost.
There’s also a law enforcement component needed to help keep streets clean and safe that includes targeting the array of criminal predators engaged in drug dealing, flesh-peddling and stolen goods selling that make already dismal situations that much worse.
Meet Georgia Berkovich, Director of Public Affairs at the Midnight Mission in Los Angeles. Watch more videos.
Check out our Los Angeles: Homelessness preview video. Contact us — Check out our work and let us know what you think.