Louis is a military veteran now homeless near the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. Like so many others, Louis came to Los Angeles to make it as an actor, but after several hard years of trying to go after his dream, Louis now lives in a tent.
The day we first met Louis, all the homeless people living in the encampment were forced to move for a homeless sweep. Because none of them are offered any support or housing, they have no choice but to return. The only difference is, LA Sanitation has either removed or destroyed most of their belongings.
It’s a sick game politicians play on homeless people at the expense of taxpayers. In Los Angeles, homeless sweeps cost $70 million a year, yet they do nothing to help homeless or housed people.
Homelessness continues to grow around the country. We cannot just push homelessness out of sight, thinking it will magically go away. We all want clean streets. None of us wants to see homeless encampments, but we need housing and real solutions to help people get the support they need.
Last month, rents across the country increased more than any other month since they started to record rent costs. Rents have gone up 19% in Los Angeles. 40% in Austin. 30% in Orlando. There is nowhere that is not affected by the affordable housing crisis. If we don’t start making a significant dent in homeless numbers now, I cannot imagine what homelessness will be like in five years.
If you live in Los Angeles, here is a link for the City Council contact information broken down by district. Please reach out to your legislators to demand they stop the sweeps.
Nationally, please support Housing Not Handcuffs
We all must advocate for more housing and support services and stop homeless sweeps at the local level. At the same time, we must continue to pressure state and federal legislators. Your voice can help end homelessness. If we do not fix the affordable housing crisis, homelessness will worsen.
Click here to tweet, email, call, or Facebook your federal and state legislators to tell them ending homelessness and creating more affordable housing is a priority to you.
More stories on LA’s Homeless Sweeps:
WATCH the Horrible Reality of LA’s Homeless Sweeps
Woman Loses Everything in Los Angeles Homeless Sweep
Playlist of our anti-sweep videos: https://wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com/stopsweeps
