LA Times: Homelessness rises in downtown L.A.

The first major increase in months shows how intractable the problem remains.
By Cara Mia DiMassa and Richard Winton
Times Staff Writers
April 4, 2007


Two weeks ago, downtown boosters and the LAPD were celebrating a milestone: The population of homeless people sleeping on downtown's streets had dropped to just 700 — compared to more than 1,800 just six months earlier.

The count came amid a major LAPD crackdown on crime in skid row and the continued gentrification of downtown neighborhoods with new luxury lofts as well as trendy bars and restaurants.

But the results of an LAPD census conducted early Tuesday morning threw cold water on the celebration and served as a reminder of how intractable the homeless problem in downtown remains despite all the progress.

The census showed the first major increase in months in homeless people camping, to 921.

Read the full article over here.