A new study described by experts as providing the
clearest picture yet of extreme poverty in the region has found that around
13,000 people on public assistance fall into homelessness in Los Angeles County
each month, it was reported today.
Although many quickly find work or rely on family to get off the
streets, the number experiencing “continuous, unremitting, chronic
homelessness” continues to grow, even after 10,000 people were housed over the
last three years, according to the report being released today by the Economic
Roundtable, a nonprofit research group in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times
reported.
The report recommended that the welfare system intervene to help
children and young adults who become homeless before their condition becomes
chronic.
“Prevention is critical for reducing the number of people who
experience homelessness as well as the number who become chronically homeless,”
said the study quoted by The Times. Housing does not provide a solution until
the pathways into homelessness are narrowed.”
The analysis was based on records for 9 million county residents who
received public assistance at any point between 2002 and 2010, according to The
Times. The study said many systems, including disability screening, mental
health, foster care and criminal justice, fed into the homelessness pipeline.
The 2007 to 2010 recession also drove many out of their homes, it said,
according to The Times.
The study also included these recommendations:
-Arranging screening for children’s disabilities, including cognitive
and mental health issues.
-Screening adults for behavioral health needs.
-Home visits by a public health nurse for any family with children.
-Connecting families to substance abuse rehabilitation services.
The report cautioned that families can be reluctant to interact with
authorities for fear of having their children removed from their homes and
recommended that services not be “intrusive or sanctioning,” The Times
reported.
