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California's homelessness crisis: The precarious poverty of the working poor and seniors By HeyWire AI
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University of California, San Francisco study released Tuesday—the largest and most comprehensive investigation of the causes and consequences of homelessness in California since the mid-1990s—found that, for most of the study participants, the cost of housing had simply become unsustainable, especially for Black and brown seniors. Dr. Margot Kushel, director of the University of California, San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative and the lead researcher of the study, said that many Californians were working and living in poverty until they lost their homes. “Something goes wrong, and then everything else falls apart,” she said. Researchers looked at eight California counties,
including Los Angeles, to study both rural and urban homelessness, surveyed nearly 3,200 people and conducted 365 in-depth interviews. They found that the state’s homeless population is aging, with 47% of all adults aged 50 or older, and that Black and Native Americans are dramatically overrepresented. Contrary to myths of homeless migration, most were Californians: 90% of participants lost their last housing in California and 75% of participants live in the same county as where they were last housed. Nine out of 10 spent time unsheltered since they became homeless. The median length of homelessness was 22 months. Furthermore, one in five of those surveyed entered homelessness from an insti-
tution. Of those who hadn’t been in an institution, the majority (60%) had attempted to forestall homelessness by doubling up with family or friends. Participants were disconnected from the job market and services, but almost half were looking for work. When asked about help sought to avoid homelessness, “People were like, ‘What? What help?’” Kushel said. Participants had also experienced multiple forms of trauma throughout their life, increasing their vulnerability to homelessness and contributing to their mental health and substance use challenges. Two-thirds reported current mental health symptoms and more than a third experienced physical or sexual violence during this episode of home-
A homeless encampment with the top of LA City Hall in the background. | Photo by Russ Allison Loar (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
lessness. More than a third had visited an Emergency Department in the prior six months. One in five who used substances reported that they wanted substance use treatment—but couldn’t get it. Substance use is also more complicated than
some might think. "The participants described how heavy substance use contributed to losing their homes, but also how methamphetamine usage allowed them to stay alert to protect themselves from assault or theft," wrote LA Times columnist Anita Chabria.
The study authors made several recommendations for easing homelessness, including increasing access to affordable housing and to access to low barrier mental health, substance use, and harm reduction services during episodes of homelessness.
Police arrest 1 person at Glendale Unified School District board meeting By City News Service
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he Glendale Unified School District's final board meeting of the year drew large groups of protesters and advocates of the LGBTQ+ community, and police arrested one person who was in custody Wednesday. The meeting comes two weeks after the board's discussion of a motion to recognize June as Pride Month, and sparked protests that turned violent and led to at least three
arrests. Even though there were no LGBTQ+ items on the school board agenda, protesters and supporters showed up at the meeting Tuesday night at the Glendale Unified School District offices on Jackson Street. Media footage showed the crowd gathering in the parking lot with many of them holding signs. Police told ABC7 one person was arrested, but details of the
arrest were not disclosed. President Nayiri Nahabedian started the meeting by attempting to calm the protesters, asking them not to repeat the attacks and threats from the meeting on June 6. "Angry rhetoric has been ratcheted up and some things have been said and done that are simply not OK and they really must stop," she said. "Accusatory language, personal attacks, mining people's
social media to publicize deeply personal situations, vandalizing cars, racial and ethnic slurs, homophobic, transphobic slurs and intentional misrepresentation of what's happening in our schools. These things will create long lasting divisions in our Glendale community that may never be repaired. Deep divisions that we should wonder how to come back from." She added that, "no one has a right to threaten,
bully, harass another person." During the meeting, Superintendent Vivian Ekchian announced she is retiring effective June 30, ending a 38-year career in education. Chatter was making the rounds on social media before the meeting suggesting more protests could materialize at Tuesday's meeting. A group of LGBTQ+ advocates called Queer
Nation LA urged supporters to turn out in force at the GUSD board meeting "to outnumber the fascists trying to eradicate trans and queer lives from public education in the U.S. and beyond." The group's posts suggested that an "allied group of GUSD parents" will attend the meeting to speak in support of LGBTQ+ kids, and "we additionally See Glendale USD Page 28