Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 3, No. 37 - September 16, 2021
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This Issue
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Entertainment......................2
Hawthorne............................3
Lawndale..............................4
Inglewood.............................5
Legals.................................6,7
Neighborhood Therapist.....4
Pets........................................8
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Commemorating the Twentieth
Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks
The LAX pylons were lit in red, white and blue last weekend as we remembered the somber 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Photo courtesy LA International Airport.
Advocate Atty McLellan Tackles
Homelessness in California
By Kiersten Vannest
As California deals with an ongoing homelessness
crisis, advocates encourage education.
Atty McLellan, a prominent voice in the effort
to solve homelessness, addresses solutions to
the issue and some misconceptions.
In addition to teaching a class on homelessness
as a community engagement manager
for a major housing nonprofit here in California,
McLellan has conducted and presented
research at conferences like the Peace and
Justice Studies Association Annual Conference,
Effective Altruism, and the Western
Psychology Association Conference. Currently,
on top of her nonprofit work, she is
in the process of writing a book based on
her research from the last four years.
“You hear a lot of vitriol, you hear a lot of
hate that people have about this issue,” says
McLellan, “But when I talk to people when
I try to educate people on this, it’s more just
lack of education. People are scared.” The
answer, she says, is so basic. The answer
is housing.
Sounds simple, right? That’s because it is.
McLellan goes on to say that other issues
are often looped into the conversation, like
mental health and sobriety. Things, she says,
that can be most effectively addressed once a
person is housed. So, the line of questioning
then begins at: How do we house people? And
why hasn’t this been solved in California?
“The problem is a mixture of a lack of
resources and people being scared of what
they think housing means,” she explains.
When thinking of affordable housing, some
immediately think of big-block housing taking
over neighborhoods. Some are afraid of
property values falling, and some are afraid
of the money it could cost.
“It’s really just apartment complexes that
anyone could live in and would want to,”
she says. Tenants still pay rent, and to any
onlooker, it would look the same as any
other apartment complex. McLellan is very
interested in the work being done to build
entirely affordable complexes that would house
not just those experiencing homelessness, but
also low-income earners. Studies have shown
consistently that when low-income housing is
added to a neighborhood, one of two things
happens. Either: Nothing, and the effect on
property value is neutral. Or, in many cases,
property values actually increased.
A point to consider, she adds, is that California
has a shortage of housing across the
board. Not just for those experiencing homelessness
but for everyone, housing is scarce.
“We need something 3.5 million units…
yesterday,” she says. Issues like single-family
zoning often come up to address the housing
shortage, but within that conversation, the
issue of affordable and inclusive housing
needs a greater spotlight.
Advocates are excited about the Homekey
Program rolling out, which is a movement
by the state to turn motels considered less
than desirable into permanent supportive
housing. This project is great, she says, for
cities afraid of new construction.
Studies conducted nationwide show that
populations experiencing homelessness largely
became homeless in the place of their last
residence. This is true of Los Angeles, as
well. McLellan explains that every year, a
census is conducted called a Point in Time
Count, where researchers go out in the field
and count every person without a home and
gather data. Data for Los Angeles shows that
about 65% of the homeless population are
from Los Angeles, and about 70% have been
in LA County for over ten years.
“The idea that people just need to move
out of state is too simplistic,” she explains,
“There’s a reason why you haven’t gotten
up and left yet. And if you have or you’re
thinking about it, I’m sure you’re trying to
think about what you can afford and what’s
out there.” McLellan reminds us that these
things take a lot of time and resources, which
someone on the street may not have.
The biggest point she expresses is the
financial benefit of building housing in your
own city. “It is not a financially feasible option
to expect everyone to move out of your
city or to push everyone out,” she says. It’s
also expensive to have people living on the
street. In data published for Orange County
by UCI and OC United Way, it was found that
the most costly 10% of chronically homeless
individuals incur on average over $439,787
per person per year in taxpayer money,
and that’s going to things like ambulances,
emergency services, and police response. Of
those in permanent supportive housing, that
number goes down to about $55,000 per
year. This is because when an individual is
housed, there is far less police intervention
for things like violating anti-camping laws,
and medical costs decrease as the safety of a
home. It is far less costly for the average city
to provide housing than to do nothing at all.
It is also critical, McLellan mentions, to
keep people connected to their network.
That means building housing where they’ve
already made connections and have friends
and family. Many work in the area. Housing
far away uproots individuals who are already
going through something very hard, costs
See McLellan, page 7