If you don't live in Los Angeles and you think you know what LA's Skid Row is like, think again. Nothing anywhere else in America compares.
In Downtown LA, however, as many as 54 blocks—between Third Street and Seventh Street, from Alameda to Main—are almost entirely given over to the homeless. Mountains of garbage block the sidewalks. The air smells like sour and burning crack. And everywhere there are people—dirty, disheveled, disabled; lay on lawn chairs or sprawled on the pavement;
Just last year, the national poverty rate rose to include 13.2% of the population. 1 in 7 people were at risk of suffering from hunger in the United States. In addition, 3.5 million people were forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelter or cars.
The combination of the high cost of living, low-wage jobs, and high unemployment rates only exacerbate these problems and force countless Americans to choose between food, housing, and other expenses. Studies show that money devoted to food is typically the first to be sacrificed. Families will often pay their fixed payments first, such as rent and utilities, rather than pay for food. Especially in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, these problems will only continue to grow if our society does not make it a national priority to address them in any systemic way.
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