The most common reason unhoused individuals give for why they do not have a place of their own to live is unemployment and lack of income. Homelessness, according to those with lived experience, is primarily a problem of income.
Building more affordable housing is essential for solving this crisis, but is not a stand-alone solution to growing homelessness. We cannot build our way out of this problem when there is a steady inflow of new people becoming chronically homelessness.
The majority of unhoused adults in Los Angeles County make an effort to earn money. Their drive to support themselves is an asset for their communities and opens possibilities for individuals to propel their own trajectories out of homelessness.