Homicides against unhoused Angelenos rising
Content warning: This article contains discussions of violence.
Andrew Bales was sitting outside the shelter complex with a line of children when a man was stabbed right in front of him. He watched, horrified, as the man bled out next to a family.
Following that incident, Bales pledged to keep families off the streets as long as he could do something to help. Now the president and CEO of the homeless shelter Union Rescue Mission, he is dedicated to providing a safe space for at-risk unhoused people across Los Angeles.
Murder trends of people experiencing homelessness in the city have increased significantly since 2011, according to L.A. Police Department data. Bales said the rise in violence is linked to worsening conditions on the streets, including unregulated drug trade, gang violence and a decreased police presence in high-risk areas.
The homicide rate of unhoused people in L.A. is currently nearly 20 times greater than it was in 2014. This trend reflects the overall increase in people experiencing homelessness as local shelters and the L.A. government struggle to manage the influx in the unhoused population.
“Everyone can see that the problem is getting worse and the numbers seem to reflect that,” said Ben Henwood, director of the USC Center for Homelessness. “That includes areas in South Central and near USC. Although people have different approaches to clean up particular neighborhoods or areas, ultimately … there’s nowhere to hide from it.”
The number of unhoused homicide victims surged in 2015, leaping from four to 17 deaths per year. Since then, numbers have escalated even further, peaking at 92 deaths in 2022. This year, the LAPD has reported 16 deaths by homicide from January to April.
Andres Linares manages volunteers at the Midnight Mission, a charity organization that shelters unhoused individuals on Skid Row. He looks to the surrounding area as an example of the hazardous conditions this population faces.
“There are pretty much no rules here,” Linares said. “People can use [narcotics] openly in the streets and you won’t get into any consequences. Government officials have made it into an area that is unstable.”
The L.A. City Council used the largely unregulated zone as a containment ground for people experiencing homelessness in the 1970s. In the early 2000s, hospitals and law enforcement agencies released unhoused people into the area, contributing to an already overflowing population. Today, the area is subject to frequent crimes and drug-related deaths. Missions work to reduce the number of people living on the streets, but are struggling to keep up with demand amid worsening conditions.
“[In 32 years], we have gone from 2,000 people on the streets of Skid Row to 4,700,” Bales said. “A much larger population of people on the streets makes them vulnerable to homicides.”
Street brawls, criminal gangs and the unregulated drug trade are largely responsible for rising murder rates, Bales said.
“The gangs pretty much reign and rule Skid Row,” Bales said. “Our police force has somewhat backed off of maintaining peace … until a tragedy occurs and they show up to pick up the pieces.”
The Greater L.A. Homeless Count, organized by the city in partnership with local organizations, tallies the number of unhoused people each year. However, Linares said these numbers, along with reported homicides by the LAPD, do not reveal the full picture.
“I'm the type of person that likes to disappear from the grid, and I know there are other people out there that are the same,” said Linares, who has experienced homelessness. “The [Homeless Count] is just people that they see. I'm sure the number is higher because there are people out there like me that just want to hide.”
Midnight Mission aims to reduce the number of individuals on the streets by providing refuge and services to support self-sufficiency. The organization provides recovery programs, housing and other services to help its guests get back on their feet.
Linares graduated from Midnight Mission’s Healthy Living Program, a recovery program which offers guests a path to sobriety and provides tools to fuel long-term success and self-sufficiency. Now, Linares looks to help others off the streets.
“After a while, on the streets, I just didn’t care much about [basic skills], so these skills were available to me and to anyone in the Skid Row community through our Healthy Living Program,” he said.
Current government policy prioritizes housing before harm-reduction, Bales said. Because Union Rescue Mission fosters a sober environment, it cannot accept government funding, but relying on private funding does not provide it with sufficient resources to effectively address homelessness. He said this policy is disastrous for local shelters.
Bales said that, although shelter programs are doing everything they can, the increasingly difficult circumstances are beyond the control of local organizations, and that it is policymakers who must attack the root of the problem.
“I'm working with a group in Washington, D.C. on a measure called Housing Plus, which would allow some of the federal money to go to groups focused on recovery and faith-based recovery,” Bales said. “Our new mayor, Karen Bass, said in her new budget she's going to look at some money for recovery … I'm encouraged a little bit.”
In the meantime, Bales said the community needs to prioritize sheltering anyone seeking asylum from the streets. He is hopeful that innovations like mobile homes and 3D-printed shelters will ease the current crisis. Current solutions, including expensive, large-scale housing projects, take a long time to develop and are often abandoned. Permanent solutions require more fundamental changes, he said.
“It has to do with mental health. It has to do with education,” Bales said. “This is a complicated problem that we need to solve. We need to figure out how we can raise our children differently so that, when they grow up, they have hope and don't have the handicaps of trauma and addiction that are causing so many people to become homeless.”