The Antelope Valley Times

Your community. Your issues. Your news.

Homeless count increases in the Antelope Valley

by •

[File]
LANCASTER – Homelessness in the Antelope Valley increased nearly 3% over the past year to reach an estimated 3,293 people, according to data released Tuesday by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

“The news that homelessness has increased 2.8 percent in Antelope Valley is concerning, but not surprising,” said Elise Buik, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. “We are doing more than ever before, but the cost and limited availability of housing is a strong headwind.”

The full 2019 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count report can be found on the LAHSA website [here]. The report helps determine how resources are distributed and provides insight into some of the root causes of homelessness, including housing affordability.

The overall data shows a drastic increase in homelessness across Los Angeles County — a 12% jump over the past year to reach an estimated 58,936 people.

“We have the largest unsheltered population in the nation and one of the largest homeless counts across America. Only New York has more people experiencing homelessness on any given night,” said LAHSA Executive Director Peter Lynn.

The numbers are up in LA County despite tens of thousands of people who have moved off the streets and into permanent housing. In the last year alone, the county has helped 21,631 people find permanent homes, while another 27,080 who were homeless at some point during the year were able to lift themselves out of homelessness, according to the data.

According to the figures for the Antelope Valley, roughly 1,171 homeless people are sheltered, while another 2,122 are unsheltered. The AV’s homeless population is 55% male and 44% female, with 1.5% identifying as transgender or gender non-conforming.

Other facts about the 2019 homeless population in the AV

  • African Americans make up 38% of the homeless population, followed by whites at 30%, and Hispanic or Latino at 25%.
  • 21% are under 18.
  • 25% of homeless people age 18 and over suffer from serious mental illness.
  • Homelessness among veterans decreased by 53% over the past year, dropping to 118.

Click here to view the complete fact sheet for Service Planning Area 1 ‐ Antelope Valley.

–

 

 

 

 

45 comments for "Homeless count increases in the Antelope Valley"

    • Kensington is a farce. The money spent on Kensington is a terrible return on investment. It will house 51 people. If the former hospital on I were used, it would house 700 people and serve 1,200 people. This is yet another example of Wrecks lining the pockets of his political friends. I am happy that 51 people will have housing, but it is gross negligence and corrupt on how it was carried out. Shame on Wrecks.

      • Kensington is not a farce. Read Sean Newton’s comment to you, because I couldn’t have said it any better than him.

  2. America:
    The Greatest.Country.Ever(TM)!!! That isn’t really great at much of anything, unless spending trillions of dollars on unprovoked invasions counts as being great.

  3. The homeless divide amongst Race is missing Asians Or WILL THAT BE TOO RACIAL..HOW ABOUT SHOWING HOMELESSNESS UNDER AGES?
    TO ME IT SEEMS MORE PRACTICAL…

  4. It’s obvious the AV homeless are not breeding. The only explanation is that skid row homeless are boarding the Metro and they’re getting off at Lancaster station to join to join the quit AV homeless community.

  5. Allegedly the City of Los Angeles offer or at some point in time offered free metrolink tickets to members of their homeless population. Those free metrolink tickets had destinations of either Palmdale or Lancaster.
    I can’t confirm it but it would not surprise me if it is true and is a contributor to the increased homeless population in the Antelope Valley.
    The state and county have long treated this place as a dumping ground for ‘undesirables’

  6. This is not a rent issue for the vast majority. Its a social services issue. I cant believe people are buying into linking this to the housing market issue. It may be for some but its not THE solution. That is simple political rhetoric. What cracks me the hell up is that the same people who are pushing housing legislation are opposed to prop 13 which prevents being taxed out of your primary residence in the event of a property value spike (think Malibu). People need to stop looking at politics as a sports team and start doing some critical thinking. On another note, there is an inflated market and some dirt bag landlords. Those landlords must follow California law and give ample notice to evict. Those who have the mental capacity to do so, relocate.

  7. I don’t want not 1 cent of our taxes to go to the homeless. Don’t shelter them and don’t feed them.

    • Well tough love let’s hope you get homeless one day you ignorant person
      A lot of people have jobs out there that are homeless but idiots it on property keep increasing the rent I hope you end up homeless with nothing to eat

      • Thats not Ignorance. Just a statement he made based on his values. Hoping he becomes homeless with nothing to eat because of his values are your values.

        • Homeless is everywhere. Period. It isn’t going away. It’s going to get worse. The economy is on life support. Globally. There are several factors causing this none of which have reached crescendo. Sorry to be doom and gloom but This is happening everywhere. Do not judge them to quickly for they us and could be you…

          Quantitative easing has diminishing returns. Debts and deficits are exploding. 124 trillion in unfunded liabilities. Mortgage rates at 16 month low with fed rate yielding more than 10 year Gov. Bond. Cutting rates now will only encourage inflation once money velocity inevitably accelerates. Dont watch the stock market, experienced traders know the power of bond market and the story it’s been screaming at those who know how to listen…

        • His values echo those of our mayor who suggests we arm ourselves and shoot the homeless if they rob us. So much for building a Christian community in Lancaster. Under Parris it is barbarism.

          • So you’re saying we should let the homeless rob us? GTFOH!!! Take your Bible and cross and shove it where the sun don’t shine. Nobody is going to rob me and get away with it !!!

          • HardAss, how many times have you been robbed by the homeless? I don’t know. I have never been robbed by the homeless. How many times have you been robbed by Parris? If you live in Lancaster, the answer is every day.

    • In these times we need some christ-type love. It makes me sad to hear such callousness to suffering. Where has the compassion gone? Are we all so selfish now? No one knows or cares for their neighbor. Well sir, should you ever become homeless I will gladly give some money to help.

      • Joe, don’t you love how our ‘Christian’ mayor suggests we carry guns and shoot homeless people if they rob us? Rex teaches a brand of christianity that is heresy.

    • I work locally in Lancaster, and have seen too much between them. The drug deals, the begging for money with a beer in thier hands. One local business said thier tires were getting slashed if they refused to give them money. The piss in bottles left roadside, garbage everywhere left behind. Snorting coke in parking lots. One guy on the corner couldn’t get a handout and he was flicking people off. Another guy was humping a street sign laughing his ass off on some kind of drugs. I would NEVER give anything to these people. They are a waste of space, and have trashed this valley. We moved to Teach API, but still have to work here for now. I laugh when I see 350,000 dollar housing tracks being built, and across the street are a bunch of pitched tents. Who in thier right mind would pay to live across the street from filth? Oh, and it is a law people, that you cannot pitch a tent and live like that. Even if you own the land you can’t squat in your own backyard. Clean up this valley. It is overrun with trash.

  8. I hope there are plans to cool off the homeless in the summer and get them a source of hydration. Some of them have many health conditions that cause them to be confused and mentally unstable.

    • I have been thinking the same. I would like to see something in place to get them hydrated and cooled off. People die every year due to the heat.

  9. And Lancaster’s mayor thinks the solution is to arm the citizenry to shoot the homeless “if necessary.” Seriously, it’s a video interview he recently gave. I mean, he hopes it doesn’t come to that, but hey, it might. In the meantime, he has shown little commitment to actually dealing with the homeless crisis – he was on watch when they closed down our only shelter.

    How about better ideas? The Toys R Us shopping center is now fenced off, with 10s of thousand of square feet of building space just sitting there empty. One of the spots used to be a Hometown Buffet – hmm, a restaurant. Seems like this could house a lot of homeless folks with space and facility to feed them, too. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX.

    I don’t want people sleeping on my front porch, leaving needles and poop on the sidewalks. It’s awful. I don’t think we, as a society, should put up with this. WE MUST DO BETTER. Thirty+ years of trickle down economics is decimating our society. No health care, unaffordable rents and stagnant wages. The rich get richer and the rest of us can eventually sleep on the streets.

    But stupidity and greed reign supreme. Every time someone votes Republican, they are stupidly voting to screw themselves unless they are the 1% – and those are the greedy. But as long as Republicans give you permission to hate everyone who is gay, a woman, elderly, too young, too brown, just not white enough, way too black, Jewish, Muslim, speaks a language other than English, is pro-choice, knows climate change is real – well, they keep voting for those who are slowly starving, killing and legislating everyone they don’t like out of existence. In the Republican plan to combat homelessness, we just arrest them, starve them or just kill them outright and problem solved.

    And in Lancaster, our city government builds roundabouts while people starve on the streets. Yeah, I’m so glad they have their priorities straight.

    • Have you heard of the Kensingston Campus under construction? Lancaster is doing something about homelessness.

      • The Kensington Campus was a no bid contract that is funneling millions of dollars to Wreck’s buddy Scott Ehrlich. It is a $25 million dollar project that will house 51 low income residents. That works out to $490,000+ per person. This is a $25 million taxpayer financed loan that is interest free and requires no repayment until death or sale. If they converted the old hospital that could house 700 and service 1,200 a day it would have cost $35 million. But Wreck’s pals wouldn’t get to cash in.

        It’s just like the artist loft where Ehrlich got $5.5 million to build so he can charge $1,200 to $1,400 bucks a month.

        Questions remain as to what did Wrecks do with the $1 million that LA County gave him to address homelessness. All we’ve seen is him close down the shelter and bulldoze homeless encampments.

        Oh yeah, he’s also told us to carry concealed weapons and shoot the homeless if they rob us.

        What a dolt.

    • If you think that Democrats are the saviour’s, you are sadly misguided. Neither side gives a damn about the homeless, or you for that matter. When will American’s wake up and realize that both Rep. and Dem. are but 2 sides of the same coin.

    • Democrats have been in charge of this state for over 40 years. Don’t blame Republicans lmao. I don’t want to pay for housing for people who don’t want work. Take care of your self don’t depend on the government, have some self respect!

  10. Go figure, they are coming up from LA, or should I say shipped. Amazing how the Hispanic population is less then African Americans and White’s. I wonder why. Build the wall.

    • Yes build two walls with a roof and doors. The homeless can live along the border.

      • Come on we all know money all goes for illegal immigrants for housing food and seven babies that they each have which is $700 for kids stop illegal immigration is tail with Sanctuary City

    • Judy , Hispanics aren’t going anywhere , deal with it or move. Get mental help you need it.

    • To Funny anytime I want a good laughter and some good entertainment go to A.V News @ Judy Mexican American Are Not a Minority We Are the Majority ….. Do your Part and Love People No Matter What….Color they Are. ….

  11. For 3 years I have suggested that Palmdale and Lancaster with unincorporated AV request it’s own HUD CoC District separate from LA. The Cities of Long Beach, Glendale, Pasadena and LA have their on CoC. Long Beach which is a little bigger than AV in population but AV has almost twice the homeless count. Long Beach because they have their own HUD CoC receives $9 million dollars a year directly from HUD. Antelope Valley receives around $3.5 Million. We continually get the short in the stip and are treated like stepchildren with LA County. Let’s stop crying and take things into our own hands and go directly to HUD to request our own HUD CoC District. Is Mayor Hofbauer and Parris leaders, what is Congresswoman Katy Hill or Kevin McCarty doing for AV?

  12. According to Marv and Rex, 67 homeless people a day are being sent from LA on the Metrolink to Los Angeles. Those were figures provided by our crack police chief D’Errico. In a year, that means in a year, we would have 24,445.

    We realize there is a homeless problem in Lancaster and on the BLVD. But there aren’t 24,445 homeless people.

    A bigger problem is how Marv and Rex handle the homeless situation. What happened to the million dollars the county gave us? Why did they close down the homeless shelter? Why are they bulldozing homeless encampments? Why are they spending $10 million on LEAPS for no results when that money could address the homeless situation? Why did Ehrlich get a sweet no bid deal for Kensington, which really doesn’t address homelessness? Why is our mayor suggesting we take to the streets with concealed weapons and shoot the homeless if they rob us?

    • You should shoot anyone who tries to rob you. I guess some people like being victims!

      • Unfortunately, the Wrecks definition of “tries to rob you” includes panhandlers.

        • You think being accosted by panhandlers at every corner and in every parking lot is somehow desirable?

          I like many of the points you make on here, but I guess we’ll be in disagreement on this one.

          • Panhandlers on street corners in highly undesirable. Suggesting we arm ourselves and carry guns illegally is also undesirable and comes from a very troubled mind.

    • QuestionLancasterAuthority,

      Sometimes I feel like people like you just love chaos for the simple reason that it helps make your point. Trying to get control of a problem and rendering it to solvability is not something you support because then your complaints become invalid and you lose your soap box.

      As far as anyone is concerned, I am a normal, working-class citizen of Lancaster with no agenda who votes about 60% Democrat, 30% Republican and 10% independent. I have no personal stake or fortune to be made. I came here 10 years ago from out-of-state to work at NASA-Dryden.

      Yet, when I see our elected people making positive moves trying to curb homelessness, crime and other social issues, it is something I support.

      It seems like people of your ilk want the homeless to keep being homeless, you want more tent cities built, you want more panhandling and chaos, you want crime to continue being an issue because — it makes your case and it keeps that ax grinding!

      • What positive moves? Funneling millions of dollars to your political donor? Kensington will house 51 people. The hospital on I would house 700 and serve 1200. I see you are not from here. Do some research on the Lancaster Political Machine and the millions of dollars they have pilfered and steered to their own. I’ve been here far too long to be fooled by their smoke and mirrors.

        People of “my ilk” donate time, money, and energy to helping the homeless. We also spend time and energy exposing fraud, such as what goes on daily here in Lancaster. Sorry if that offends you but the truth sometimes hurts.

    • Question Lancaster Authority; Kensington does address homelessness and it is a big step in the right direction. Thank you Sean Newton for an excellent comment.

      • If you consider funneling millions of tax dollars to political friends a step in the right direction, you are either a partner with Insight, naive, or dim. Tax dollars would go much farther and help many more people to convert the hospital on I. Problem is, Rex can’t get his cut.

        The AV is full of misguided people and corrupt leaders.

        • I don’t get involved in politics, and you can say what you want. 60th street and Ave. I is too far out for it to be viable. Kensington Campus is a much better location. It’s that simple, and it will be so much better than the shelter on Yucca was. I don’t know about money being funneled, and I certainly don’t consider the opinions section of commenters truthful. Everyone has an agenda, and a motive. I only want what’s best for those that are less fortunate than me. I was homeless for ten years, and I know what is going on. I also know how your comments distort the truth to suit your motives.

  13. What is the percentage of the people incapacitated by alcohol or drugs or both?