Staggering statistics were released last week showing a major spike in homelessness across Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) recently conducted the 2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count and found a nearly 25 percent jump in people living on the streets or in shelters.
The numbers show nearly 11,000 more people without their own bed to sleep in at night. While that figure is alarming, LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis also noted her concern about the 41 percent increase in the number of homeless children this year, during last week’s supervisorial meeting in LA.
The rising numbers appear shocking in light of the placement of roughly 14,000 homeless people into permanent housing in 2016. LA County voters also took action supporting Measure H (for homeless) in March, approving a quarter-cent sales tax increase. The tax increase will fund shelters and initiatives to provide housing for the indigent. It’s estimated to raise $355 million annually over the next 10 years. And the City of Los Angeles last year also committed $100 million to combat homelessness along with passing Measure HHH in November, which is expected to raise over a billion dollars in bonds for the construction of 10,000 apartment units.
The LAHSA count of people without a permanent home showed different areas of the county had different rises in the homeless population, with the Antelope Valley and East Los Angeles County showing the biggest increases — up nearly 50 percent. The San Fernando Valley and the South Bay only saw jumps of roughly five percent. It’s been estimated that Malibu’s homelessness has increased by roughly 18 percent.
Two years ago, Malibu community volunteer Carol Moss saw the increase first hand and founded Community Assistance Resource Team (commonly called CART).
“If you go downtown, it’s so awful. You can see why people would come to Malibu. You can give them food or not give them food. They’ll just come here because it’s safer and we all love it here — same reason,” Moss said.
She added that CART helps not only the homeless.
“We’re actually trying to help the whole community because if you stabilize the homeless population, you’re helping the residents. You’re helping the businesses by not having people sitting in their doorways — maybe not hygienic — and all the problems that come with it,” Moss described. “It’s a community problem. It’s not just helping the homeless, it’s helping to create a wholesome community. We are helping to feed them. Malibu Methodist has a wonderful community dinner Wednesday evenings and another dinner Thursdays.”
Moss said they make connections with the homeless at the dinners of 50 to 80 people. Describing the dinners as “warm,” she added, “We help get them what they need, get services. All kinds of good things come out of it. Somehow our volunteers produce enough food to make a feast every week.”
Malibu resident Karen Horner grew up in the 1960s and said she can only recall one homeless person in Malibu during her youth. After leaving Southern California for a few years, Horner returned to Malibu and said she was surprised at how many homeless people she sees now in the Malibu Civic Center. Horner, who now volunteers feeding the homeless every Thursday in Santa Monica, recalled a recent disconcerting incident at the Malibu Lumber Yard shopping area.
“I was surprised. I had to walk around and through people’s belongings,” Horner told The Malibu Times.
Moss described CART’s efforts as “triage,” saying the group works with homeless task force caseworkers.
“Many people have spontaneous needs that come up, [such as] running out of food stamps or medicine.” Moss related, “A very touching example is a woman at one dinner who had all her possessions in two paper bags. That’s all she had. What she wanted was a certain kind of cart to put her stuff in. We got it for her and it made her so happy. A small thing made such a difference. One woman wants to get a degree but couldn’t afford the textbook. We’re getting it for her.”
CART is having its third Homeless Connect Day on June 28 and will work with county services, to provide medical, mental health, dental and other services including haircuts, foot washing and a shower van. Volunteers can contact greenlotus@earthlink.net or lsaunders@stjosephctr.org or call 310.396.6468 ext. 326.
“They may need warm protection — a sleeping bag, a tent,” Moss said. “That doesn’t keep people from staying here. They will stay here rather than go into a shelter in town. There will be homeless in Malibu no matter what.”