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Op-Ed: Why ordering L.A. to shelter its homeless won’t solve the homelessness crisis

Anger and frustration rightfully jump out from each page of the recent federal court order creating a right to shelter for the 4,600 unhoused residents in downtown Los Angeles’ skid row neighborhood. 

…The second lens is justice-focused and stresses the role of larger societal forces in creating homelessness. Rather than focusing on individual behavior, it zeroes in on the gap between rental costs and incomes. Since 2000, median rents in L.A. County have increased by 54% while median renters’ incomes have only increased by 16%, according to the California Housing Partnership….