Skid Row and the Safer Cities Initiative - 1277 Words

The Safer Cities Initiative of Los Angeles was brought upon the city in late 2006 by Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa. The Initiative was primarily designed to remove the homeless and mentally ill citizens from the isolated, 50 by 5 block, Los Angeles streets, known Nationally as Skid Row. In the end the S.C.I. violated these citizens civil rights and failed to meet any set obligations and responsibilities. Since the city of Los Angeles put this initiative into motion, the city then became responsible for these people, as if they were the â€Å"parent† of these homeless â€Å"children†. You can’t kick a homeless person off the streets, they’re homeless. So where do they go if they aren’t allowed on the street? Where do the mentally ill go if there are†¦show more content†¦Los Angeles has the highest homeless population in the country, double more than that of New York, with the shocking estimate of 83,347 people living in Los Angeles County on the streets or in shelters on any one night, at any given point in time, and 224,203 annually in Los Angeles County ( excluding those in Long Beach, Pasadena and Glendale ). Including the estimates in Long Beach, Pasadena, and Glendale the total is approximately 91,000 people. 80%- 90% of the people in Skid Row are drug addicts and in Los Angeles County 21% of the homeless cited drug addiction as the cause of their current situation ( â…” struggle with mental illness and addiction ) , and on average 10 out of 12 times they will relapse, making the success rate of staying clean 1 out of 6. The number one drug of choice is crack cocaine, the number 2 drug is heroin ( approximately 100,000 users in Los Angeles County ), the next in line is methamphetamine. In 2000 - 2004 Skid Row lost 1000 housing units. In 2005 there were 1,544 violent crimes on Skid Row, 10 times more than in Beverly Hills which is 8 miles away. This is the city away from downtown. Skid Row has 5 major missions that service 6,561 homeless families. Midnight Mission was the first shelter to be built in downtown Los Angeles. It was established in 1914 ,by Tom Liddecoat father of the poor, as a refuge for the men of Skid Row. in 1922 the midnight mission was given a non-profit status. in 1933 Henry RichmanShow MoreRelatedThe Problem Of Homeless Population1401 Words   |  6 Pageshas been highly overlooked by media and political attention. Cities in many parts of the world may be known as centers for poverty whether if it s a developed or developing country. No city, state, or country is prone to homelessness. Los Angeles in particular is an entry point for many immigrants who come to look for jobs. The intentions are not to cause there to be a vulnerability to poverty but to try to make a living some how. â€Å"Skid Row homeless population originates in South LA – where servicesRead MoreCommunity Policing : Is It Important For Us All? Essay2287 Words   |  10 Pagescommunity will help guide how this process should be handled, along with future resource allocations. These officers can serve many roles, including acting as civilian liaisons, forging new community partnerships, and helping to execute whatever new initiatives are created as a result of the community policing model. Often, these officers will be specifically assigned to whatever area they serve to allow them more direct contact with members of that community. The changes required of a law enforcementR ead MoreEssay on Fall of Asclepius95354 Words   |  382 Pagesscreen television, which played the news on the CBC, that hung on the wall. Thomas never knew why the school played the news on the television screens. No one watched the news but him. There was strange news about disease outbreaks in different cities around the world and riots that started without being provoked. This news was a commonly covered topic in the news for the last couple months. The stations reported it but they did not explain the origin of the disease, whether it was swine flu or