More and more residents of Los Angeles secretly live in cars because of expensive rent

Kevin Recinos works full time for an organization helping the homeless in Los Angeles, California. When his apartment rent increased by $200 a month, he became homeless. Now Kevin is one of about 9 “secret” homeless people in the city. These are quite respectable and neat people who often have jobs, but because of expensive rent, they live in cars and try to hide it.

Showing himself preparing his car for the night, Recinos lamented: “I realize this is my first time going through this with someone. It's a very vulnerable moment, like I'm showing you my bedroom and it sucks." Kevin admits that he is trying to find new affordable housing, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to do this in Los Angeles, he writes CBS News.

Since the financial crash of 2008, home prices have fallen in Los Angeles and across the country. Then investment firms began buying up undervalued real estate. The city offers few protections for renters and gives landlords broad discretion over what they can do with their properties. In recent years, as the economy has improved, corporate property owners have used the law to their advantage by vacating purchased buildings, making renovations and raising rental prices.

Pete White, the founder of the Public Network to help the homeless, says that wages are not keeping pace with rent increases.

From 2010 to 2018, the average price for renting a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles increased by 84%, and the average wage increased only by 11% over the same period. White says that people are struggling to regain stability in their lives.

“We need 550 housing units, but instead of building affordable housing, we are building luxury homes. And once a person leaves a stable, familiar home, they have very few options,” White explained.

According to the US Federal Reserve report for 2017 a year, 4 of 10 Americans cannot afford to spend 400 dollars for a sudden emergency. Los Angeles County has 4 million people who live on the verge of a financial foul. Many of those who become secret homeless try to preserve other aspects of their lives, hiding the details of their place of residence from outsiders.

Ana Estrada lives in Santa Clarita, a suburb an hour northwest of Los Angeles. Her apartment rent went from $1000 to $3000 a month, forcing her to move. The cheapest place she could find was $1800, but then she became seriously ill and lost her job. Now Estrada and her 13-year-old daughter live in the car. Like Kevin Resino, she is one of Los Angeles County's many secret homeless people.

Estrada makes sure her daughter gets to school and softball on time, where she takes her in her BMW SUV. She says her aging luxury car is the last thing she has and is the only form of shelter that keeps the woman and her daughter safe at night.

“This Beemer is a 2006 Beemer. “I paid for it while I was working,” she said. “I definitely went really deep.”

In Los Angeles County it is forbidden to sleep in cars at night, so Estrada tries to quietly place cars in densely populated areas. She also stresses that homeless people like her do not fit into the general stereotype.

“What does a homeless person look like? He may have a good car. He can dress nicely. I clean myself up because deep down I have pride. And I'm not ashamed to be homeless. But I don't want you to look at me and say, “Well, this is what a homeless person looks like.” Homelessness comes in all shapes, sizes, races, genders,” the woman noted.

Los Angeles authorities and human rights groups are working to provide more protection for tenants, but there is serious interference. Since 2001, 20 000 controlled rental properties have been removed from the market. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the central area of ​​Los Angeles needs more than 500 thousands of affordable housing units to meet demand. Today, every third tenant pays for housing more than half of their income.

Estrada says that in these circumstances, being without a roof over your head is much easier than many people can imagine: “This can happen to anyone. Do I want this for other people? No, I do not want this to anyone, because it is stressful. This is a bad way. Sometimes I feel that I failed as a mother. ”

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