Los Angeles – “America’s Homeless Capital” Essay Example

48. % white, 9. 8% African American, 11. 9% Asian, and other smaller percentages of various races. 44. 6% of all races of the population is Hispanic or Latino (U. S. Census Bureau). Specific to Los Angeles City, 22. 11% of individuals, and 18. 3% of families live below the poverty level, higher figures than the percentages for the entire county. 13. 19% of married-couple families live below the poverty level, while 32. 72% single-parent (female householder) and 20. 9% single-parent(male householder) families are below the poverty level (Los Angeles Almanac, 2006).

There are considerably more female single-parents below the poverty line, 59,396, as opposed to 15,892 of male single-parents (Los Angeles Almanac, 2006), figures implying that female single-parents in LA City may have a harder time sustaining their families than male single-parents. With regards to child poverty in LA City, 86,200 children under 5 years of age, or 31. 33% of the age group, live below the poverty level. Meanwhile, 107,271, or 31. 23% of children aged 6-11 years live in poverty. For the 12-17 age group, 81,482 or 28. 93% are below the poverty level (Los Angeles Almanac, 2006).

Statistics show that the percentages below the poverty level decreases as age group advances. This is an indication that families below the poverty line tend to have more children, and the children often feel the greatest effects of poverty. Among the communities of Los Angeles City, the following have the highest percentages of individuals below the poverty level: Chinatown (61. 19%), Watts (47. 66%), Pico Union (44. 24%), Central City (41%), Southest LA (38. 82%), Central City East (36. 04%). Koreatown (35. 89%), South LA (35.

75%), Westlake (35. 3%), and Lincoln Heights (34. 09%) (Los Angeles Almanac, 2006).

It can also be seen from the first table above that 9 out of the ten communities are dominated by Hispanics. Greater results would then be gained if efforts to alleviate poverty are first targeted towards Hispanic communities, and then to African American and Asian communities. Education is one of the combatants of poverty. The higher the achieved educational level, the better the chances are of an individual getting a good job.

In 2000, there are 2,308,887 individuals aged 25 and older in the City of Los Angeles, 770,172 of these, or 33. 36% never graduated from high school (Los Angeles Almanac, 2006). This is perhaps one of the causes of poverty in the city. To further illustrate how education affects poverty, the table below shows the educational attainments of the population of the same 10 communities previously listed.