There are a lot of cities in the United States that experienced real winters. That is the time of the year wherein the lives of the homeless are in great danger especially if they cannot find a shelter to stay.
El Niño winter season hits Los Angeles and in such extreme weather condition, the state is not well-prepared to aid the homeless population. LA's crisis when it comes to its homeless population increases to a point that it shoot up 55 percent since 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to City Lab, last week's El Niño storm made everything clear that Los Angeles is definitely not ready to help its homeless population in terms of emergency weather conditions. With all the climate changes happening in the world then more weather problems will be encountered. The calamity that can be brought by Mother Nature is inevitable and LA's unpreparedness is such a disturbing fact that caught the attention of many people.
The SCPR.ORG reported that the Los Angeles Civil Grand Jury released a report which stated that, "Not enough is being accomplished to alleviate the suffering that is certain to increase among those who lack reliable shelter as a massive El Niño weather pattern approaches."
The bottom line is that the emergency shelter is not enough to accommodate the thousands of homeless which puts their lives at risks. The Civil Grand Jury made a survey of the 22 largest cities in Los Angeles County and they found out that the emergency winter shelter cannot cover the 29,000 unsheltered homeless. These are the people who live in tents, cars, sidewalks and even benches and are clearly unprotected in such weather condition.
Los Angeles has reportedly no comprehensive policy when it comes to homeless access to shelter during extreme and dangerous weather conditions. But last week's heavy rains and floods that affected the LA River was enough proof of how dangerous the situation was and will be especially for the homeless.
Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Garcetti spokesperson Vicki Curry said that, "The Mayor will use every tool available to save the lives of our most vulnerable during this El Niño season." It seems like the city will make a bigger move to help the homeless by finding them shelters for the storm season.
