Los Angeles Is A Problem For American Society - 1432 Words

Los Angeles is a city where many important and famous people live. Most people think that most of the population living in Los Angeles is rich because of famous places such as Rodeo Drive and Hollywood where most American movies are produced. The United States has a strong economy, is very safe, and solves a lot of big problems outside the border. United States has a lot of organizations, associations and charities for human rights; however, a big city like Los Angeles has a dark side, it has the highest percentage of homeless people, drug addicts and alcoholics in the United States. Almost all of these people live in one neighborhood, which is called Skid Row. It is located in the southern part of Los Angeles. It started as a home for†¦show more content†¦Since many of the migrant workers were single and male, the area also saw a proliferation of bars, whorehouses and other houses of ill repute, Today there is a large mission presence in Skid Row which can trace its roots t o that period (P1).† The history of Skid Row starts in 1880 and continues until 1930 to serve the Los Angeles worker population; as the article â€Å"History of Skid Row† explains better by stating: â€Å"People escaping war and difficult conditions in other places came to Los Angeles to start a new life. More and more people came year after year, so in 1930 there were around ten thousand homeless in Los Angeles. Skid Row started as cheap housing and homes for seasonal laborers but then alcoholics, drug addicts, refugees and homeless came to stay there† (P1). According to the same article: â€Å"In 1975, the area became part of the then newly adopted central business district redevelopment act†(P2). So it means in the seventies, the Skid Row area became just like what we know today. The area is still poor and is a problem for the Los Angeles Community. â€Å"Homelessness† is defined by Howard Bahr in his book Skid Row an Introduction to Disaffiliation as: â€Å"a condition of detachment from society characterized by the absence or attenuation of the affiliative bonds that link settled persons to a network of interconnected social structures† (P17). The definition describes the people who live in Skid Row because they are not settled and their social structure is