Homelessness in Los Angeles. _ Poor People's Campaign

 

The L.A. Summit on Poverty and Homelessness Last Friday, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor hosted an historic Summit on Poverty and Homelessness. Held at the IBEW Hall and attended by hundreds, the day brought together labor, political and community leaders to discuss solutions to poverty and homelessness in Los Angeles. The day began with a fact-filled presentation by L.A. County Federation of Labor President Yvonne Wheeler, who drove home how hard it is for people—even those who are working—to make ends meet. She noted that more than 2 million people are living in poverty in L.A. County, and many are one paycheck away from being homeless.   We also heard from elected officials including Mayor Karen Bass and County Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Janice Hahn. Workshop sessions centered on closing the wage gaps for all workers, creating unity with public-sector unions and community organizing efforts, and scaling up efforts to build affordable housing.   The surprise of the morning was Laphonza Butler, our new U.S. senator, who gave a heartfelt introduction to the keynote speaker: our very own Bishop Barber. And before he spoke, PPC theomusicologist Yara Allen energized the audience with a rousing call-and-response rendition of “Somebody’s Hurting My People.”

Bishop Barber began by reminding us that we must face up to the realities of poverty—that the numbers are higher than we’ve been told, that we continue to blame people for their own poverty and that we need to stop believing that the poor will always be with us (and how that phrase is an intentional misrepresentation of Scripture).    “What is the cost of poverty?” he asked, “it’s losing a trillion dollars due to child poverty…and losing 1.3 trillion due to corporate tax breaks.” He then fired us up as he repeated that “it’s time to have a meeting”—a community-wide, nationwide coming together across lines of division to eradicate poverty once and for all. “It’s time to solve this!” he said.   We left inspired and motivated to march toward that goal while strengthening connections between unions and the greater community. Read more about the summit in the Los Angeles Sentinel.