Unsheltered: A Report on Homelessness in South Los Angeles
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June 2008 – Special Service for Groups (SSG), a key homeless service provider in South Los Angeles, releases Unsheltered: A Report on Homelessness in South Los Angeles. Unsheltered examines a number of community-level economic, demographic and social indicators to help explain why Service Planning Area (SPA) 6 has the highest concentration of homeless persons outside of Downtown LA. The policy report highlights a homeless population that has received little attention amid the media and policy debates surrounding homelessness in Skid Row and Downtown, and shows that homeless service providers in South LA receive disproportionately less funding than providers in other areas.
According to Unsheltered, South LA received less than 11% of the 2007 Los Angeles Continuum of Care Grant Awards and had the second lowest ratio of grant dollars per homeless person in LA County. “Ultimately, this report aims to help policymakers, service providers and community members to better understand the conditions of the underserved in the South LA area as a way to move forward in the countywide fight against homelessness,” states report author David B. Howard.
Unsheltered is one in a series of policy reports prepared by SSG’s Census Data and Geographic Information Services (CD&GIS).
Report Highlights:
“Among all the service planning areas in LA County, South LA consistently ranks among the bottom in terms of causes for homelessness, including poverty, unemployment, low educational attainment, lack of affordable housing, foreclosures, prisoner re-entry rates, health factors, substance abuse, domestic violence and emancipation from foster care,” states Dr. Herbert Hatanaka, SSG Executive Director. By focusing on these causes for homelessness, Unsheltered broadens the dialogue around homelessness to include measures to prevent marginal populations from becoming homeless in the first place.
Key Homelessness Statistics in South Los Angeles (SPA 6):
• SPA 6 contains 16% of the LA County homeless population and 17% of homeless persons in families in LA County.
• SPA 6 has the highest percentage of its homeless population who are unsheltered (91%) – compared to 83% of the entire County’s homeless population.
• Despite having 16% of the LA County homeless population, SPA 6 has just 12% of the homeless service providers and 13% of the shelter beds in LA County. Furthermore, SPA 6 has the third highest ratio of homeless persons to service provider (265:1) and of homeless persons to shelter bed (5:1).
• SPA 6 has less than 7% of the County’s year-round permanent housing beds for homeless individuals and families, and less than 3% of the County’s projects in the pipeline are slated for SPA 6.
• SPA 6 received less than 11% of the 2007 Los Angeles Continuum of Care Grant Awards and had the second lowest ratio of grant dollars per homeless person ($607).
• SPA 6 has the second highest concentration of homeless persons per square mile (164) in the County.
Key Indicators of Homelessness in South Los Angeles (SPA 6):
|
Key Indicators |
LA County |
South LA (SPA 6) |
Rank* |
|
Average household income |
$70,238 |
$41,600 |
8th of 8 |
|
Overall poverty rate |
18% |
32% |
1st of 8 |
|
Acute poverty rate |
8% |
15% |
1st of 8 |
|
Child poverty rate |
25% |
40% |
1st of 8 |
|
Percentage of residents receiving public assistance |
6% |
15% |
1st of 8 |
|
Percentage of residents receving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) |
6% |
10% |
1st of 8 |
|
Unemployment rate |
8% |
14% |
1st of 8 |
|
Disability rate |
20% |
25% |
1st of 8 |
|
Percentage of residents age 25 and over without high school diploma or GED |
30% |
53% |
1st of 8 |
|
Percentage of renters who pay 30% or more of household income on housing |
45% |
53% |
1st of 8 |
|
Percentage of homeowners who pay 30% or more of household income on housing |
35% |
44% |
1st of 8 |
|
Percentage of renters who pay 50% or more of household income on housing |
22% |
29% |
1st of 8 |
|
Percentage of homeowners who pay 50% or more of household income on housing |
14% |
21% |
1st of 8 |
|
Percentage of housing units that are overcrowded |
23% |
39% |
1st of 8 |
|
Average household size |
2.3 |
3.7 |
1st of 8 |
|
Rate of increase in repossessed homes between Q2 2006 and Q2 2007 |
772% |
797% |
5th of 8 |
|
Resale rate of repossessed homes |
13% |
7% |
8th of 8 |
|
Percentage of home purchase mortgage loans by subprime lenders |
30% |
53% |
1st of 8 |
|
Percentage of refinancing mortgage loans by subprime lenders |
23% |
42% |
1st of 8 |
*Ranking is out of the 8 service planning areas (SPAs) in Los Angeles County.