According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, between the years of 2014 and 2015, there were reported to be 524 attacks against homeless persons in the country. Of those attacks, an overwhelming 21.5% took place in California, followed by Florida, in which 9% of nationwide attacks occurred. In 2019 however, there were a reported 1,252 crimes committed against homeless people in Los Angeles alone; a nearly 200% increase from 2015. This growing narrative that “homeless people do not matter and should not live in the public eye” is one of the many factors leading to an increase in violence against the homeless population; but why in California?
California is made up of such a diverse population of people, specifically, that diversity becomes apparent when looking at the socio-economic status of those living here. According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, there are nearly 66,436 homeless people living in Los Angeles County alone, making up about 41% of California’s total homeless population. LA is filled with people from all sorts of economic backgrounds, creating a wealth gap and ultimately aggressive tension between the rich and the poor. This tension is likely what causes these attacks, people believe that the homeless are ‘ruining’ their cities & have dehumanized them; rather than attacking the root of homelessness, they are attacking homeless folks. Nearly 44% of attacks on the homeless end up being deadly, and only 5% of attackers are held accountable.
Because of the lack of true repercussions against attackers, in 2011, California State Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal (D) proposed Assembly Bill 321 which essentially added homeless persons under the existing laws that protect the right of all people to be free of violence or intimidation because of their race, color, religion, political affiliation, etc. This bill made it all the way through the California State Legislature, ending up on then Governor Jerry Brown’s Desk where it was eventually vetoed. What harm does the protection of homeless people bring to California? Why, by law, are homeless viewed as 'less human' than any other person? This lack of concern by the California government makes us question if it is not only the criminals who do not view the homeless as human, but possibly the very politicians that we elect into office.
Sources:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB312
https://nationalhomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/HCR-2014-15.pdf
https://sf.curbed.com/2020/3/4/21152501/san-francisco-homeless-nhip-count-supportive-housing