As Giving Tuesday Approaches, Consider Being a Hero in a State That Needs Help

The State of California faces a greater struggle than any other state in the U.S. in dealing with homelessness, inflation, and the overall cost of living. Though California has earmarked $1.6 billion for homelessness, “people are still falling into homelessness faster than our system can move them out,” according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Co-Executive Director. The state’s efforts simply cannot keep up with our rising population of poor and homeless.

And yet suffering humanity is where individual humanitarian efforts shine the brightest. With Giving Tuesday approaching, and important decisions being made on where to pass along your blessings this holiday season, consider the following crises we’re dealing with.California is home to over 27 percent of the nation’s homeless population, a disproportionally large share of those who are homeless throughout America. In Los Angeles County alone, the rate of homelessness has risen over 4 percent in less than two years, and 14.2 percent of the entire population in our county lives below the poverty line.This is happening as inflation remains at historic levels and the cost of living in California continues to soar. Since 2019, living costs in LA county have risen 16 percent. For 75 percent of the county’s families, the cost of rent and utilities now exceeds 30 percent of income. This means, even with a $16.04 per hour minimum wage, the average wor …