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# McKinley School 5th grade teacher SM not taking brunt of homelessness
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/mckinley-school-5th-grade-teacher-sm-not-taking-brunt-of-homelessness-editor/
- Published: 2003-12-15T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:19:55.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless, Homelessness

*By Alan Toy Santa Monica Better in prison than Santa Monica Editor:*

While it seems at times that Santa Monica is overrun with people who are homeless and much has been said and written about our city’s response to the problem, there is a new report out that puts some of the impressions of despair into perspective. The report, titled “Homeless in LA: A Working Paper for the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Los Angeles County,” was released last week by the Economic Roundtable. The full report is available online at http://www.bringlahome.- org/reports.htm.

The report describes characteristics of the homeless population in Los Angeles County in 2002\. It provides data on age, sex, ethnicity, family structure, marital status, disability, citizenship, educational attainment, wage and salary income, occupation, causes and duration of homelessness, mobility and more. It also estimates how many homeless people have mental illness, are veterans, have HIV/AIDS, have a history of domestic violence and are youth or emancipated foster youth.

Some of the findings may be surprising to those who think Santa Monica is a Mecca for transients because of our approach to providing some benefits to those without homes. Some of the highlights of the report are: ■ An estimated 78,600 people are homeless in LA County on any given night and 253,918 are homeless over the course of one year. ■ South Los Angeles has the largest share of homeless residents — 33 percent, while the westside has the smallest share — 2 percent. ■ Los Angeles County has become a seedbed of homelessness for other regions, sending out 50 percent more homeless people than it receives. ■ Homelessness lasts less than a year for 95 percent of the annual homeless population. ■ Two-thirds of homeless welfare recipients are in families, one-third are single. ■ 17 percent of homeless adults report a history of active military service. This is nearly double the 9-percent rate for the rest of the county.

So, despite the claims of some Santa Monicans, it seems that we have a smaller percentage of homeless people in our area than the rest of the county. We are actually exporting, rather than attracting people who are homeless. Homelessness is a temporary state for the vast majority of people, rather than a “profession,” and many of those who are not housed are people who have given service to protect and defend our country. In other words — you. ■ 5,000 homeless people in the westside area is still a lot. It is a big problem. But if there are some in our community whose compassion for homeless people has been exhausted, perhaps this new information will give them reasons to rethink their intolerance to support programs that help people who are down, but not out, get back on their feet again. Such programs will never be able to fully “cure” homelessness. That is a much bigger problem that is a manifestation of many societal and personal failings. But they do have a positive impact on many who find the support they need to regain their dignity and find a place to call home. Meanwhile, these figures show that we in Santa Monica aren’t being asked to do more than our share to resolve a coun-tywide problem.

I hope your full enjoyment of your blessings this holiday season includes a good measure of generosity of spirit that embraces those who find their blessings harder to count.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 15, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/121503.pdf?ref=smdp.com)