Over 200 children, some as young as 2, were found living on Skid Row, which is a half -square-mile area, housing more than 4,000 homeless people
Many live in tents or vehicles along Towne Avenue, in an area that’s filled with open drug use, crime, and human waste.
Reports indicate that children are playing in contaminated street pools or water filled storage bins.
The Union Rescue Mission, the only Skid Row shelter accepting families, houses the majority of these children but is overwhelmed.
In 2024, the shelter reported serving over 400 families, however it started charging a fee to the families that were there for more than 90 days, forcing many to go back to the streets.
Clean water is scarce, with organizations like Water Drop LA delivering over 1,000 gallons weekly to ‘residents’, underscoring the lack of basic infrastructure.
This as Governor Gavin Newsom has repeatedly touted California as the “richest state in America,” pointing to its $3.9 trillion GDP and status as the world’s fifth-largest economy.
However, the homeless issue, specifically the Skid Row’s crisis, points to a disconnected governor.
Despite California’s wealth, and the tens of billions given to NGO’s to help with the issue, the state’s homelessness crisis has gotten worse.
There are more than 180,000 homeless in California, the highest number in the nation with critics saying that Newsom’ has funneled billions into progressive housing programs with no results.
