Picture this: you’re an unhoused person living in Los Angeles, and you’ve found a spot to bed down for the night. It’s quiet, it’s grassy, you feel somewhat safe there, even if just for the night. Then, a police officer comes to rouse you, waking you up and telling you that you’re in violation of LAMC 41.18(d) because you’re only 450 feet away from a nearby school, and not the 500 feet required by the new law.
Homelessness
08-06-2019
At the first protest against a planned shelter in Koreatown, Johnny Byul Lee was the lone counter-protester. “Oh man, my own people are showing no compassion,” he thought. “I don't want everyone to think that that's how all of us are.” He went to the first rally with a sign that read “Koreatown, Choose Love” handwritten in thick black marker — the lone counter-protester. Some protesters yelled at him in Korean. “They were really mad at me because they felt like I (had) betrayed them,” Lee said. “They also said ‘You're not really Korean because if you were then you'd understand what we're doing.”
07-10-2019
Mozgo and others increasingly are taking matters into their own hands, putting obstacles in public spaces to prevent homeless people from sleeping in them. Chris Homandberg, a Koreatown resident and activist with the homeless outreach and advocacy group KTown for All, makes it his business to complain about the fences, planters and rosebushes that have been proliferating in his neighborhood. “These issues go unaddressed and allow property owners to do what they want to get people out of sight. That’s a problem,” he said. “My goal is not to get people in trouble. It’s to work on this idea that you can’t address [homelessness] by pushing people around.”
07-10-2019
New homeless shelters in Fullerton could be opening soon after the City Council voted to declare a shelter crisis in the city to ease building laws that would hamper shelter construction. Father Dennis Kriz, of St. Phillip Benizi church in Fullerton, helped organize at least 60 people — all dressed in white — to attend the meeting and advocate for the crisis declaration. Kriz helped organize with other local religious leaders in the area. He said many will take shelter if beds were available. “Because most of them would go if they had a place to go,” Kriz said.
06-28-2019
Earlier, we were talking about what happened after Korean American protesters shut down a plan last summer to build a shelter in Koreatown. Some worried those protests made the community look heartless. KPCC’s Josie Huang met one Koreatown resident who tried to do something about it. We’ve been talking about homelessness in Koreatown - its up 79 percent, according to the latest count. And today we look at the role of Korean churches —a big force in a diaspora that’s about two-thirds Christian. Churchgoers were among those protesting a shelter in K-Town, even though many do homeless outreach. One pastor tells KPCC’s Josie Huang there are reasons for the disconnect.
06-27-2019
Homelessness is getting worse in Koreatown, up 79 percent over last year, homeless count data shows. City officials had planned to build a shelter there — part of a campaign to put more beds across the city, not just Skid Row. But backlash to the idea was instant. All this week, we look at what’s happened in the year since. Now we hear from the protesters who protested those who fought against the homeless shelter. KPCC’s Josie Huang reports from Koreatown.
06-04-2019
In a hard reality check for Los Angeles County’s multibillion-dollar hope of ending homelessness, officials reported Tuesday that the number of people living on the streets, in vehicles and in shelters increased by about 12% over last year. The annual point-in-time count, delivered to the Board of Supervisors, put the number of homeless people just shy of 59,000 countywide. Within the city of Los Angeles, the number soared to more than 36,000, a 16% increase.
05-17-2019
Los Angeles declared a homeless shelter crisis in April 2018. Shortly after, City Council President Herb Wesson was the first councilmember to step forward with a plan to bring bridge housing in his 10th District. Draft designs for one of the recently approved shelters — dubbed "Hope at Lafayette" — obtained by LAist show a plan to build living spaces out of shipping containers, enough to house 70 people.
06-29-2018
At a heated meeting at City Hall, Los Angeles lawmakers pressed forward Friday with a plan to set up emergency shelters for homeless people across the city, voting unanimously to start assessing possible sites in Koreatown, Venice, Hollywood, Harvard Heights and the Westside.
05-21-2018
(Board member Zu Kim) It was some years ago when my church was located on 6th street in K-town. There were several homeless people living across the church. One of our ‘kwon-sa-nim’ (female elders) boiled eggs for them weekly, and our youth group members occasionally made sandwiches for them. There were at times unexpected moments for the first-time-helpers — the homeless people often refused the food because they just didn’t like it.