In the sprawling landscape of Los Angeles, an urgent issue demands our attention and empathy: homelessness.

The bustling streets and neon lights can sometimes obscure the harsh reality faced by thousands who lack shelter, stability and hope. However, L.A., along with local organizations like USC student-led aid group Trojan Shelter, has shown a pioneering spirit by implementing effective strategies that offer a beacon of hope.

To explain the intricacies of the issue, Lauryn Tham, a senior majoring in global health, spoke with the Daily Trojan about her experience working with Trojan Shelter.

“Homelessness is everybody’s problem,” Tham said. “These people are our peers … but sometimes, a homeless person could be someone in class with you.”

Tham’s words echo the essence of awareness, a cornerstone in the fight against homelessness. This strategy is rooted in the belief that helping others realize the importance of such a crisis is the essential foundation for tackling the challenges that allow homelessness to thrive.

By exposing the sobering reality of how homelessness has increased exponentially throughout the years — and demonstrating how it reflects our own progress — we can pave the way for others to realize how their awareness, actions and help can contribute to individuals experiencing homelessness regaining stability in their lives.

“There’s been a growing population of homelessness in L.A.,” Tham said. “It’s partially due to COVID, also a lot of political changes in legislation that makes it harder for people to get, you know, welfare and things like that.”

Located next door to one of the largest-growing unhoused populations in the United States, the University has the power to address homelessness among its student body. Trojan Shelter, a student-led organization that helps house college students experiencing homelessness, operates separately from the University.

With a team of undergraduate student volunteers, Trojan Shelter provides housing in Koreatown and food for all the residents, with staff working throughout the day and night. Above all, Trojan Shelter provides connections that allow students experiencing homelessness on-campus resources and even career opportunities for the future, creating a welcoming environment for these individuals throughout their college experience.

By taking significant strides in providing valuable knowledge and support for people experiencing homelessness, including USC students, the University could contribute greatly to the progress of getting the support they need if it takes an empathy-driven approach. Perhaps students would be better able to understand how they can be at the root of ameliorating the issue.

“Students need to care about it — to realize it’s their problem too,” Tham said.

As of now, one of the greatest approaches to combating homelessness has been the Housing First Approach — a method that prioritizes permanent housing as the primary solution for homelessness above others — much like the goals and objectives of Trojan Shelter. By prioritizing permanent housing over other, more temporary alternatives as the foundation for addressing deeper challenges, the strategy has provided countless individuals with a secure place to call home.

A lot of our own daily experiences are only possible because of our home being a place where we feel a sense of belonging, safety and comfort. It’s where people can be themselves without judgment, a refuge from the outside world.

Whether it’s a house, an apartment or another type of dwelling, a home holds a central part in many people’s lives. Homelessness is a complex issue, and there isn’t always a perfect statistic that covers all regions and circumstances. One thing to keep in mind is that nearly half of all individuals experiencing homelessness in the U.S. have been recently employed, a fact that shatters conventional notions of employment as a guaranteed pathway out of homelessness.

Yet these individuals can face significant challenges in terms of maintaining personal hygiene, clothing and a consistent address for job-related purposes, which can indeed make it difficult to sustain employment and can contribute to a cycle of homelessness.

It quite simply shows how these individuals are trapped in a catch-22, where the very basics needed to maintain employment or even survival are the ones denied to them — hence the importance of a joint effort in bringing more attention to the Housing First approach. Ultimately, this predicament underscores society’s collective failure to provide a safety net for those who teeter on the brink of hopelessness, urging us to reshape our priorities and champion empathy over indifference.

Beyond just reshaping our views, our efforts must be directed at the root of the problem: tackling the underlying causes of the repeating cycle of homelessness.

Many of the underlying causes can vary depending on individual circumstances, as well as social, economic and systemic factors. In addition, these causes can be analyzed at either the structural level — including gentrification, systemic inequities or poverty — or at the micro level, including personal issues like substance abuse, family instability or lack of social support that can all lead to higher risks of becoming unhoused.

“Some people think that saving homeless people means having to reach into their own wallet. It absolutely does not mean that,” Tham said. “What will [save homeless people] is getting the word out there.”

The New York Times conducted extensive interviews for a report titled “30 People Tell Us What Homelessness is Really Like.” Above all, the interviews demonstrated the humanity of the people we pass each day on the street.

“People don’t understand that when you’re homeless, you’re treated rudely, minimum three times a day. Someone walks around you or snickers or just looks at you like you’re just garbage, or flat out says something about you, you know?” said James Reed, one of the interviewees in the report.

The harsh preconceived notions surrounding homelessness stop many people from caring and seeking to make a difference.

In her interview for The New York Times report, Amber Rittenhouse said, “There’s a lot of stigma: that everybody is an addict, everybody is lazy, everybody doesn’t want to work. People need to genuinely know there’s a lot of families just out here struggling to get out of the situation.”

Elevating the fight against homelessness requires a united front. Engaging local communities through meetings, collaborating with schools to integrate awareness into curricula and leveraging digital platforms for impactful storytelling can create a ripple effect of understanding and empathy. This can ultimately foster a society that is committed to dismantling the underlying factors behind homelessness.

By embracing proven strategies, emphasizing the humanity of unhoused individuals and fostering empathy, L.A. can rewrite the narrative of homelessness, turning it from a story of despair to one of resilience, hope and change. No one should ever have to endure the harsh reality of homelessness, as access to stable housing is a fundamental right that underpins personal well-being and the opportunity to thrive.

Raising awareness about homelessness is not just a call to action but a resounding declaration that every individual matters — that an unhoused individual is still a human being, deserving of the love and stability that others are lucky to have.