>>> WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY.
IT HOMELESSNESS. ITS AN UNCOMFORTABLE TOPIC.
ONE WE OFTEN ASSOCIATE WITH
PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS.
MENTAL ILLNESS, EVEN DRUGS, BUT
TODAY EVEN WITH THE SURGING
STOCK MARKET AND LOW
UNEMPLOYMENT, HOMELESSNESS IS
SURGING AND AFFECTING REGULAR WORKING FAMILIES.TING REGULAR
WORKING FAMILIES. IN FACT, YOU DONT HAVE TO GO
FAR TO MEET A HOMELESS PERSON
WHO NOT LONG AGO MIGHT HAVE BEEN
YOUR OWN NEIGHBOR.
JANE OCK SOBOROFF HAS THE
REPORT.
>> Reporter: THIS IS LOS ANGELESS SKID ROW.IS LOS
ANGELESS SKID ROW. TRADITIONALLY WHAT HOMELESSNESS
LOOKS LIKE.
LOOKS LIKE. AS UNAFFORD ABILITY GROWS ITS
STARTING TO LOOK DIFFERENT.
TODAY MENTAL ILLNESS OR
ADDICTION ARENT THE ONLY
REASONS PEOPLE LIVE ON THE STREETS.PEOPLE LIVE ON THE
STREETS.
MORE WORKING PEOPLE ARE ENDING UP HOMELESS AND CONSULTING RVs
HOME.
HOME.
YOURE ALMOST IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL.LMOST IN JUNIOR HIGH
SCHOOL.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE?
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?
>> WHICH I GROW UP I WANT TO HELP ALL THE ANIMALS ENDANGERED
AND LIVING ON THE STREETS THAT
ARE ABANDONED.
ARE ABANDONED. >> DO YOU SEE A LOT OF ABANDONED
ANIMALS OUT HERE ON THE STREET?
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> Reporter: FOR FROM SKID ROW,
NEAR THE BEACH, WE CAME ACROSS
12-YEAR-OLD CARLY AND HER SINGLE
MOM LILY WHO HAD JUST MOVED INTO
THIS RV.
THIS RV. ITS HARD MISSING THE FRESH
COOKING, WARM FOOD, AND --
>> I SAW YOU HAVE THE STOVE.
>> YEP. NOW ABLE TO GET A LITTLE COOKING
DONE HERE?
DONE HERE?
>> I CAN GET MY COFFEE. >> Reporter: AVERAGE MONTHLY
RENT IN L.A. COUNTY NOW OVER
$2,200 AND RISING, THE AREA HAS
THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE
LIVING ON THE STREET IN AMERICA.
>> YOU BOUGHT THIS RV LAST WEEK? >> FOR $500.T THIS RV LAST WEEK?
>> FOR $500. >> ITS YOU, LILY, CARLY.
>> MY ELDEST DAUGHTER WHOS 16.
OUR LAUNDRY FOR NOW.
>> Reporter: LILY BROUGHT HER
DAUGHTERS TO CALIFORNIA FROM
COLORADO.
COLORADO.
BEFORE THEY MOVED INTO THE RV THEY BOUNCED AROUND IN MOTELS
AND SPENT MONTHS LIVING IN THIS
MINIVAN.
MINIVAN.
>> ALL THREE OF YOU SLEPT IN THE VAN?LL THREE OF YOU SLEPT IN THE
VAN?
>> YEAH, AND PUT OUR FOOD IN THE
TRUNK.
>> WHATS IT LIKE TO LIVE IN THE
RV?
>> NICER.
>> NICER THAN THE VAN?
YEAH.
TELL ME WHY.
>> WELL, FOR EXAMPLE, ITS ROOMY.L, FOR EXAMPLE, ITS
ROOMY.
YOU CAN COOK.
ITS LIKE A SMALLER HOUSE, BUT
YOU CAN JUST -- ROLL IT. >> AND MOVE AROUND.L IT.
>> AND MOVE AROUND. A HOUSE WITH WHEELS.
ARE ARE YOU DOING?
GOING TO SCHOOL RIGHT NOW?
A. HA.
A. HA.
>> Reporter: CARLY A HOME SCHOOLING HER MOM SAYS IT FIT
BETTER WAY MOBILE LIFESTYLE.
>> YOU SAID YOURE HOLDING DOWN
A JOB.
A JOB.
HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU MAKE A MONTH.CH MONEY DO YOU MAKE A
MONTH.
>> $2,000. >> ABOUT $2,000 A MONTH.
BASICALLY, YOU SPENT THE MONEY
ON HOUSING YOUD HAVE NO MONEY
TO DO ANYTHING ELSE.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH.
>> Reporter: SHE MAKES THAT
MONEY WORKING AS A FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PICTURES
LIKE THESE.
LIKE THESE.
>> WHATS THE SECRET MAKING SURE
YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED?
>> BE POSITIVE.
>> STAY POSITIVE.
IS IT HARD?
>> NO.
>> YOU SEEM LIKE THE MOST SUPER
POSITIVE PERSON IVE MET.
>> Reporter: HOMELESSNESS IN LOS
ANGELES SURGED 23% BETWEEN 2016 AND 2017 AND NOW THERE ARE 2016
AND 2017 AND NOW THERE ARE NEARLY 58,000 HOMELESS PEOPLE IN
L.A. COUNTY WITH THE NUMBER
EXPECTED TO RISE AGAIN THIS
YEAR.
YEAR.
ITS ABOUT 24 HOURS SINCE I WAS LAST HERE.24 HOURS SINCE I WAS
LAST HERE. LILY TOLD US HER OTHER DAUGHTER
HANNAH IS NOT WORKING TODAY.
I CAME BACK TO MEET HER. SO THIS IS THE 16-YEAR-OLD.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. 16-YEAR-OLD.
16-YEAR-OLD. >> UH-HUH.
>> UH-HUH.
>> LIFEGUARD.
>> 16-YEAR-OLD LIFEGUARD. >> YEAH.AR-OLD LIFEGUARD.
>> YEAH.
>> THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH AT THE Y, DO THEY KNOW YOU LIVEAT
THE Y, DO THEY KNOW YOU LIVE OVER HERE IN THE RV?
>> NOT REALLY.
ONLY MY MANAGER DOES.
I DONT KNOW IF ITS A GOOD IDEA
TO TELL THEM.
>> HOW COME?
>> BECAUSE PEOPLE THESE DAYS,
THEYRE SO JUDGMENTAL.
>> DO YOU THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE
HAVE A WRONG IDEA OF WHAT IT
MEANS TO BE HOMELESS?
>> UH-HUH.
>> UH-HUH. >> WHY DO THEY HAVE THE WRONG
IDEA?
IDEA?
>> MAYBE BECAUSE THEY NEVER
EXPERIENCED IT THEMSELVES AND JUST SEE HOME LDSLESS PEOPLE.
>> HERES MY LONGBOARD.
>> Reporter: HANNAH IS NO LONGER
TO SEE PEOPLE FALL INTO
HOMELESSNESS.
HOMELESSNESS.
PEOPLE AT HOME, YOUR HOMELESS
NEIGHBOR COULD BE GIVING YOUR
KID A SWIM LESSON.
>> COULD BE ANYBODY.
AND ITS SAD THAT IT CAN BE
ANYBODY, BECAUSE OF THE ECONOMY
WE LIVE IN. >> WOW. IN.
>> WOW. JACOB SOBOROFF IS WITH US NOW.
UNBELIEVABLE.
UNBELIEVABLE.
>> GOOD TO SEE YOU, MEGYN. >> WHERE DO THEY PARK THE RVs?
WHERE DO THOSE GO?
>> PART OF THE PROBLEM.
MANY CITIES HAVENT CAUGHT UP
WITH THE TIMES, A GROWING
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HAVEs AND
HAVE NOT ITS AND OUTLAWED THEM
ON THE SIDE OF THE ROADS.
CITYING ARE TRYING TO CATCH UP.
THIS FAMILY, GREAT FAMILY, GREAT
YOUNG GIRLS HAVE TO MOVE ALL THE
TIME TO MAKE SURE THEYRE PARKED
IN A PLACE THEY WONT HAVE A
POLICE OFFICER TELLING THEM TO
GET OUT OF HERE.
>> THEY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SEWAGE, FIRES WITH RESPECT TO
THESE THINGS HAVE BEEN A
PROBLEM.
NOT NECESSARILY THE SAFEST PLACE TO LISTEN.ARILY THE SAFEST PLACE
TO LISTEN.
>> OF COURSE NOT.
FOR THEM, THEY FIGURE ITS THEIR ONLY OPTION.EY FIGURE ITS THEIR
ONLY OPTION.
THEY SAY, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE
LUXURIES OF WI-FI HOT SPOT AND A
PRINTER, A BUNCH OF SCHOOL
BOOKS.
STUFF IF WE LIVED IN A HOME OR
APARTMENT WE COULDNT AFFORD,
THATS THE TRADE-OFF THAT
THEYRE FACED WITH MAKING.
A TRADE-OFF SO MANY PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY NOW FIND
THEMSELVES HAVING TO FIGURE OUT
THEY HAVE TO MAKE.
>> I KNOW -- SOME PEOPLE HAVE
LANDLORDS WHO OWN THE RVs AND RENT THEM.WHO OWN THE RVs AND
RENT THEM. IS THAT THEIR SITUATION?
>> EXACTLY RIGHT.
NOT THESE GUYS.
I TALKED TO LILY -- WE TALKED TO
LILY YESTERDAY.
LILY YESTERDAY. LOOKING AT GETTING A BIGGER RV.
THEY OWN IT THEMSELVES, SAVED UP
ENOUGH TO INVEST.
PEOPLE, BECOMING A BIG
PHENOMENAL ARE BUYING AND
RENTING RVs TO HOMELESS ACROSS
THE COUNTRY.
THE COUNTRY.
MOST AMAZING TO ME, THIS IS
HAPPENING IN SOME OF THE MOST PROSPEROUS STATES, LIKEE MOST
PROSPEROUS STATES, LIKE CALIFORNIA.
CALIFORNIA.
BOTH IN SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.THERN AND NORTHERN
CALIFORNIA.
IF YOU ADJUST FOR THE COST OF LIVING, CALIFORNIA, THE MOSTF
LIVING, CALIFORNIA, THE MOST PROSPEROUS STATE, SIXTH LARGEST
ECONOMY IN THE RECORD, TALKED
ABOUT THAT, TALKED ABOUT
MARIJUANA, ACTUALLY THE STATE
WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF
POVERTY.
POVERTY.
YOU DONT THINK ABOUT IT THAT WAY.DONT THINK ABOUT IT THAT
WAY.
PEOPLE DOING REALLY WELL, PEOPLE
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ECONOMIC LEVEL ARE STRUGGLING MORIN THAT
YOU KNOW.
YOU KNOW.
>> THE POINT, YOU LOOK AT THE
COST OF LIVING, MOVED SOMEPLACE CHEAPER SHE WOULDNT BE MAKINGCE
CHEAPER SHE WOULDNT BE MAKING $2,000 FOR HER PHOTOGRAPHY.
DOESNT MATCH UP.
NOT A LOT OF OPTIONS. PEOPLE THINK OF HOMELESS, THEY
DONT THINK OF SOMETHING WORKING
CLASS, MIDDLE CLASS WHO FELL ON
HARD TIMES.
HARD TIMES.
>> YOU THINK OF PEOPLE USING
DRUGS ON THE STREETS, AND THE REALITY, PEOPLE LIKE LILY HELD
DOWN A JOB.
MOVED FOR WHATEVER REASON, FROM
ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER.
ENDED UP IN CALIFORNIA, AND THE
REALITY IS, $2,000 A MONTH ISNT
CLOSE, $2,300 JUST TO RENT THE
AVERAGE APARTMENT IN L.A.
COUNTY.
COUNTY.
>> CAN THE DAUGHTERS GO TO
PUBLIC SCHOOL?
WHEN YOU --
>> THEY COULD.
>> YOU OWN A HOME.
YOU FAY PROPERTY TAXES.
>> THEY COULD. REGISTER TO VOTE IF THEY WANTED.
BECOME OF LEGAL AGE, REGISTER TO
VOTE.
VOTE.
THE ISSUE, BECAUSE THEYRE SO MOBILE THEY NEVER KNOW WHERE
THEYLL BE NEXT.
FOR NOW, LILYS MOM HAS THEM IN
A HOME SCHOOLED PROGRAM.
LIKE I 1EDSAID, HANNAH, THE 6
16-YEAR-OLD, GIVING SWIM LESSONS
TO MY KID.
SOMETIMES HAVE TO THINK, YOU
NEVER THINK ABOUT THIS.
>> THINK ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF
FRIVOLITY MOST OF US HAVE IN OUR
LIVES AND HOW YOUD SPEND MONEY
ON STUPID THINGS THAT DONT
REALLY MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU AND
YOU SEE A STORY LIKE THAT, IT
MAKES YOU REMEMBER THE VALUE OF
A DOLLAR AND HOW WELL YOU COULD
BE SPENDING IT AND HOW YOU COULD
BE HELPING OTHERS WITH IT AS