Living on Skid Row

Tents on Skid Row
Credit: Toby Canham 

Homelessness is an increasingly growing issue in the United States. In bigger cities, such as Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., the homeless population is large and they're often congregate in one area. I decided to focus on one specific area in Los Angeles, known as Skid Row. 

Skid Row is the name that was given to a 10-block area in downtown Los Angeles that has become synonymous with poverty and homelessness. The homeless population here is around 2,000 people within about a 2.5 mile radius. Along with terrible conditions, drugs and disease are also among the issues that the homeless population on Skid Row need to look out for. According to the video posted above, the availability of bathrooms/toilets is worse than in a Syrian refugee camp that's run by the U.N. Since there's only nine public toilets to share among 2,000 people, many avoid them and find other ways to use the bathroom. This is when hygiene becomes an issue, which leads to the spread of disease, such as tuberculosis. 

In relation to topics from our class, the Skid Row example directly relates to issues of intersectionality and healthcare on the basis of class. The access to healthcare is almost non-existent on Skid Row since there's such a high poverty rate, so they typically depend on local fire stations, EMTs, and firefighters, who can only do so much when it comes to healthcare. According to Lopez and Gadsen, these disparities are part of a bigger problem that often reinforces inequality and inequity in housing and employment within lower-income communities. (Lopez & Gadsen, 2019). 

Artifact Type: YouTube Video

Works Cited

Lopez, Nancy and Vivian L. Gadsen. (2019). "Health Inequalities, Social Determinants, and Intersectionality."  Race, Class, and Gender: Intersections and Inequalities. Ed. Margaret L. Andersen, Ed. Patricia Hill Collins. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2019. 349-358. Print.