$2.00 z THE NATION'S NEWS MONDAY
zLos Angelesvoters passed a
$1.2 billionbond measure in 2016
with the hope of seeing up to
10,000 permanent housing units.
zThe measurewould be enough
to make a significant dent in the
27,221people deemed living
“unsheltered” in the most recent
homeless count.
zAt the current rateonly
somewhat more than 7,000 units
will be constructed, according to
Controller Ron Galperin. “This kind
of cost is utterly unacceptable.
I believe we need a fundamental
course correction,” he said.
LOS ANGELES – As this city tries
to cope with thousands of people
living on the streets, a few home-
less and low-income senior citizens
will be luckier than most next year.
They will receive keys to one of
72 new apartments, complete with
a fitness center, in the heart of tren-
dy Koreatown, built at a projected
cost of $690,692for each unit, ac-
cording to the city controller’s of-
fice. Two additional projects in the
pre-approval phase are expected to
top $700,000 a unit in total costs.
“This kind of cost is utterly unac-
ceptable,” Controller Ron Galperin
said. “I believe we need a funda-
mental course correction.”
Despite a booming national econ-
omy, homeless people have set up
tents in makeshift encampments in
major cities on the West Coast amid
a housing shortage that has driven
up rents to unaffordable levels.
In Los Angeles, the tents are
spread out on sidewalks across the
city, the homeless emboldened by a
court ruling that allows them to live
outside if no shelter space is avail-
able. Making matters worse, many
live in filthy, third-world conditions
without basic necessities such as
toilets and sinks. It makes them and
those who venture near susceptible
to disease.
Cities continue to grapple over
difficult housing decisions about
how to solve the problem. Should
homeless people be entitled to the
Homeless encampments crowd a downtown Los Angeles sidewalk on Skid Row.FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
HOMELESSNESS IN LOS ANGELES
Housing SOS
Misery on the streets is spreading – and the cost of solutions is skyrocketing
Chris Woodyard
USA TODAY
See HOMELESSNESS, Page 3A
QIJFAF-01005z(N)k
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The 19th
Amendment
took effect
99 years ago
today, extending
universal
suffrage to U.S.
women.
SOURCE U.S. Census bureau
AMY BARNETTE, DAVID ANESTA/USA TODAY
‘80 ‘84 ‘88 ‘92 ‘96 ‘00 ‘04 ‘08 ‘12 ‘
70%
0
60
50
40
30
20
10
Women Men
The percentage of
eligible voters who
reported casting ballots:
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