How bad is it in California?

[Sam]

"Let's stop kidding ourselves," Rosendahl said. "People are living in their cars. . . . So let's deal with the reality. In this economic downturn, it's even increasing."

Up to 200 people are living in campers or cars in the Venice area, which has many residential areas where overnight parking is not restricted, the councilman said. As part of his proposal, which is expected to be heard by a council committee within the next few weeks, neighborhoods in Venice would have the option of restricting overnight parking to residents who live in apartments and houses.

Full article: Special zones urged for people who sleep in RVs, cars in Venice - Los Angeles Times

 

[W2R]

Sounds awful, though I wonder if the situation in Venice is typical for the rest of California.

I'm not saying it's not - - I just haven't spent much time in California since the real estate crash.

 

[freebird5825]

Heck, this is normal for my neck of the woods.
It is not uncommon for an extended family to live on a single plot of PRIVATE property, with multiple living quarters consisting of a trailer, plus an RV or two or three, and/or an old school bus converted into a heated living space. But at least they are not parked on public streets.
If I lived there, I would be complaining very loudly.
Regarding the woman named "Terry", 10 miles is not far to drive. Has she no regard for how her kids feel about being shunned and being public targets ? How humiliating it must be for those teenagers.

 

[Sam]

Sounds awful, though I wonder if the situation in Venice is typical for the rest of California.

I'm not saying it's not - - I just haven't spent much time in California since the real estate crash.

I don't know if it's typical for the rest of California. But I was in Orange County (Santa Ana, Irvine, Tustin) a few months ago, and I saw quite a numbers of people living in their vehicles, mostly in shopping area parking lots.

Sam

 

[Sam]

Regarding the woman named "Terry", 10 miles is not far to drive. Has she no regard for how her kids feel about being shunned and being public targets ? How humiliating it must be for those teenagers.

What other options are available to her? Assuming, of course, that that's all she can afford, and not wasting her money on drugs or alcohol.

 

[JPatrick]

What other options are available to her? Assuming, of course, that that's all she can afford, and not wasting her money on drugs or alcohol.

hmmmm, I just wonder what the state might be wasting their money on ? ? ?

 

[laurence]

Costs are so high here, when you lose an income source you fall behind very quickly (if you live paycheck to paycheck). Bank owned homes are everywhere. It's sad. Fortunately, things seemed to have stabilized in my neighborhood. Oh, my house value keeps dropping, but people aren't getting foreclosed on anymore. Most of the remaining people got in for under $300k so we aren't saddled with too large of a mortgage.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Those are awfully elegant RVs in the article compared to the van that parks in my neighborhood. It gets moved every few days. I think I know who lives there, a guy who does a menial service around the area. Job wouldn’t pay enough to commute, and rents average $1,500-2,500/mo. to start. I’m just saying that the neighborhood benefits from his presence. I’d guess he’s still here because the powers that be are allowing it.

 

[Sam]

Those are awfully elegant RVs in the article compared to the van that parks in my neighborhood.

The white/brown RV in the foreground happens to be a late 70's Lazy Daze (the Lexus of class C RV). Current market value could be as high as $2,000!

Sam

 

[Nords]

Instead of sleeping on the beach, or in a car parked on the beach, a local entrepreneur got grants and converted donated buses into 10-bed homeless shelters. He pulls up at various locations every evening and leaves each morning.

 

[Sam]

Instead of sleeping on the beach, or in a car parked on the beach, a local entrepreneur got grants and converted donated buses into 10-bed homeless shelters. He pulls up at various locations every evening and leaves each morning.

That's a novel idea! Where is it in Hawaii?

Sam

 

[Culture]

Gee, I would also like to live in Santa Barbara or Venice, but I can't afford it so I chose to get a job and housing elsewhere.

Why should someone be allowed to live on the street in a highly desirable area simply b/c they can't afford a house there? Am I missing something? How about I pull up my trailer in front of the White House in move in? Why not?

 

[JPatrick]

Instead of sleeping on the beach, or in a car parked on the beach, a local entrepreneur got grants and converted donated buses into 10-bed homeless shelters. He pulls up at various locations every evening and leaves each morning.

I remember a typical "village" on the beach across from Sea Life Park and one at the glider airport where the road ends..
So after the buses leave, do the homeless return to the shantys for the day? If so, seems like all this is doing is providing a place to crash which may not reach the standards of the shanty..

 

[JPatrick]

How about I pull up my trailer in front of the White House in move in? Why not?

Hurry, I have a feeling that space won't last long

 

[Nords]

That's a novel idea! Where is it in Hawaii?

From a homeless shelter in Kakaako:
Homeless: Retrofitted buses pulled into duty | starbulletin.com | News | /2008/09/03/
An impulse decision led a carpenter to dedicate his life to the homeless - Hawaii News - Starbulletin.com

I remember a typical "village" on the beach across from Sea Life Park and one at the glider airport where the road ends..
So after the buses leave, do the homeless return to the shantys for the day? If so, seems like all this is doing is providing a place to crash which may not reach the standards of the shanty..

Pretty much. Most of the beach dwellings are tents & canopies. Many of the temporary homeless are actually employed, some full-time, but unable to afford deposits or rents. I guess the best benefit of a homeless shelter is family unity and structure/safety.

Chronic homelessness seems far more complicated, and far more persistent. Unlike many Mainland areas if you're chronically homeless in Hawaii, it's really hard to freeze to death or to move on to another location. You tend to stay on the same beach (or the same area) for months/years because you know the area and the people and you know where to get money/food. Unfortunately it's probably also because it's close to the school your kids are attending. Homelessness is not just crystal meth or alcohol, although that's certainly a contributing factor. It's frequently disability or an inability to hold a "traditional" job. Very few of the chronically homeless ever turn it around, and the few who do generally become tireless advocates for those who are still homeless (for whatever reason).

There are dozens of governmental and non-profit progams designed to help the chronic homeless. The state's most visibly successful approach to the problem, however, has been to close the beaches at night and clear out the parking lots. That's recently been done at Mokuleia, across from Dillingham Airfield, and has succeeded at returning other beach parks to their tax-paying neighborhoods. (Now the scariest thing about surfing Mokuleia is the coral, not the parking lot.) However the park closure doesn't actually solve the problem-- it just tends to drive the chronically homeless somewhere else.

I think he found plenty of buses to work with, too. Hawaii's visitor industry tends to produce a bunch of high-mileage worn-out buses that can either be shredded for recycling or shipped off the island-- both of which are expensive. This way the company (Roberts Hawaii) gets a tax deduction and a great marketing campaign.

 

[W2R]

I remember a typical "village" on the beach across from Sea Life Park and one at the glider airport where the road ends..
So after the buses leave, do the homeless return to the shantys for the day? If so, seems like all this is doing is providing a place to crash which may not reach the standards of the shanty..

That was what I was thinking, too. Also, given the choice, I'd so much prefer to sleep out on the beach, with the sound of the surf and light breezes over me, than to pile into some junky old bus with a dozen smelly drunken people to sleep there.

 

[honobob]

I'm not saying it's not - - I just haven't spent much time in California since the real estate crash.

What real estate crash?

 

[NW-Bound]

That was what I was thinking, too. Also, given the choice, I'd so much prefer to sleep out on the beach, with the sound of the surf and light breezes over me, than to pile into some junky old bus with a dozen smelly drunken people to sleep there.

As a woman, do you think it's safe?

There must be a reason we see more guys than gals sleeping under bridges and freeway overpasses. Of course most people would not lust after a female vagabond, but another male vagrant may feel amorous.

 

[Sam]

From a homeless shelter in Kakaako:
Homeless: Retrofitted buses pulled into duty | starbulletin.com | News | /2008/09/03/
An impulse decision led a carpenter to dedicate his life to the homeless - Hawaii News - Starbulletin.com

Great! We need more people/groups like this.

 

[haha]

As a woman, do you think it's safe?

There must be a reason we see more guys than gals sleeping under bridges and freeway overpasses. Of course most people would not lust after a female vagabond, but another male vagrant may feel amorous.

No way. I lived in Venice years ago, and was a lab tech in a local clinic. Rapes were common, and murders not uncommon.

My wife used to walk our dog in the early AM down near muscle beach. She narrowly escaped being grabbed, and bystanders were generally too stoned or too mellow to be any help.

In general, women who live on the street live an awful life. And amor has very little to do with any of it.

Ha

 

[NW-Bound]

Yes. I was just teasing W2R. The word "amorous" was a euphemism to describe the state of mind of the attackers.

 

[dex]

Let's not think this issue is going to improve - it will only get worse. It is estimated that the USA population will be 400m by 2050 a 70m increase and the world population will be 10 billion a 3B or so increase.

Probably the greatest bubble of them all is the population bubble - it has grown from 1B in 1910 to the est of 10 billion in 140 years.

This is one reason I'm not too worried about the real estate problem.

So, how bas is it in California? Not as bad as it will be.

 

[Spanky]

What real estate crash?

Definitely not in Silicon Valley. The medium price of a home is over $800K.

 

[haha]

Definitely not in Silicon Valley. The medium price of a home is over $800K.

And that is a piece of junk out in the middle of some former orchard. $800K likely would not buy you a garage in Palo Alto or Menlo Park, let alone in the hills up from these.

Ha

 

[mbooth]

Let's not think this issue is going to improve - it will only get worse. It is estimated that the USA population will be 400m by 2050 a 70m increase and the world population will be 10 billion a 3B or so increase.

Probably the greatest bubble of them all is the population bubble - it has grown from 1B in 1910 to the est of 10 billion in 140 years.

This is one reason I'm not too worried about the real estate problem.

So, how bas is it in California? Not as bad as it will be.

Chill out dude, haven't you watched the full season of Startrek: The Next Generation + franchised movies?

The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!