Skid Row Pt. 2 Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

So I mentioned in the last post that I would address the resources that are happening in the skid row to help the situation of mass homelessness. So near that area there are various clinics, drug and rehab centers, job employment readiness and preparedness (yay, thats what I do!), cheap diners, there is now starting to be some permanent housing (which 30% of rent has to paid and the rest is subsidized by the tendent), and places like the Union Rescue Mission which charge essentially the amount of General Relief (General Relief (GR) is a County-funded program that provides financial assistance to indigent adults who are ineligible for federal or State programs. An average GR case consists of one person, living alone, with no income or resources.)  if they qualify for it or if they have other means to pay to stay there. So I know that sounds like, "wow, that's great there is something that is being done about this!" but let me tell you more about why its faulting. 
So for those that don't know about Maslow's hierarchy of needs (putting my bio psychology minor to good use!)  It's the idea that basic necessities have to be met in order for us humans to reach our full potential.

So it's pretty clear that if a person is homeless that some of the basic (bottom) necessities are lacking in order for more top necessities to be met. So here are a couple of things that I noticed could go wrong:
-One of the main problems in that area is drug abuse (that will be my following post) and it's hard to get over an addiction when triggers and your recovery happens in the same location in which you were shooting up or seeing your drug dealers. Most people know that if you are in recovery that you have to disassociate yourself from the old locations and habits of that when you were drug using but thats to hard to achieve for those that are drug users and live on the skid row streets. This is because they are homeless and those streets are their home or if they have a apartment in skidrow they can't live anywhere else that will charge them 30% of their income for rent. I mean think about it these people have nothing how can they go and just disassociate elsewhere when they are stuck in the homelessness situation. So you you would think that housing would be scattered throughout Los Angeles but not is not the case, no one in the city wants former drug users or homeless populating more of the area then what's "designated to them" so it would take a big city wide effort to change how those that were addicted are ensured that they won't be so susceptible to fall back into drug using.
-Most permanent housing do not check to see if a person is an addict or sober they do however have programs within the housing such as counselors and other methods to stop the  drug addiction because the housing programs reasoning is- if the BASIC necessity of housing is met without restrictions (just that they are able to pay 30% of their income to rent) then the person will feel more secure to seek treatment for addiction because the basic necessity of shelter and security is a requirement that is met)
-There is not enough housing for this huge population more housing is under way but it requires alot of grants, planning, and then construction
-So you take my job for example, I work for a non-profit that helps many ex convicts, homeless, ex drug users and many more learn how to become job ready, prepared, and gives them the tools (Resume,cover letter, customer service training and many many more) but it is really hard to help someone who doesn't have a home or is a currently still using the drugs because if a person can't come into the interview with good hygiene and some stability of their life then if they have a job they might be more likely to lose it so my agency helps with referring to some housing and rehab or mental help places while they want to start their job search because all that has to be in alignment at one point in order for a person to be successful at retaining a job. (sorry this is a long post and has run ons but if you are reading this thank you for sticking with it and I love you!)
-oh and lastly another thing can you imagine if all you knew what one way of live and then society told you that it was wrong and had to live another certain way? Well some homeless people have been homeless for more than half their lives and being housed can be such an intimidating thing. Just think, the first time we moved out of our parents houses and we had to pay rent and utilities wasn't that a challenge? Well imagine if you did that didn't have a support system and never knew what it was like to have your own space and pay rent etc etc . So there is that barrier for some homeless along with not enough housing to begin with.

Okay I could go on and on, but hopefully if you know me and have my number we can discuss further :)

Love,

Ro