Team Kobe Joins HomeWalk 2011
You probably know Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers and you may have also watched his United Way Commercial for HomeWalk 2011 before.
But if you haven’t or if you have not lived or worked in Los Angeles, you probably didn’t know that today over 51,000 people in the LA County are homeless! Or you probably have no idea that a staggering 23,000 of them are in the City of Los Angeles alone!
Source: LAHSA.org
And so it comes to no surprise that in recent weeks and since the Occupy Wall Street Protestors started to “occupy” the so-called City of Angels, more and more homeless people (many coming from Skid Row, South LA and Hollywood) have set up their tents within the Occupy LA tent city.
Of course, organizers of the protest action do not condone this intrusion but who is to say that these homeless people aren’t part of the 99% and are not there to be part of the protest against the ruling and the powerful 1%?
Although needless to say, most of the homeless people there are there because it is far more better to “live” or stay in the tent city than in their cardboard homes at Skid Row. And it is a welcome respite from the filth, the smell, the petty crimes, the drugs and the violence that they see and experience every day and every night while homeless or living in the streets of LA.
Homelessness Growing
To make matters worse, we see no respite either to the creeping number of people being forced to become homeless every single day, mostly due to the continuing economic downturn and the resulting record highs in unemployment and home foreclosures, plus the increase in higher education costs, school drop-outs, unwanted teen pregnancies, high medical costs, and drug abuse, alcohol abuse, gambling and other uncontrolled addictions.
And this Christmas season is not going to look good either because many thousands of veterans will be returning home from the war front, many to join in another war for job openings in the scarce job market back in the home front.
Regarding United Way of Greater LA’s annual 5K Walk, Team Kobe and HomeWalk is asking people to run/walk and help in the fight against this growing giant and menace — homelessness.
2011 will mark the fifth time that this annual run slash walk will take place and the fifth year where ordinary people and organizations can contribute to help fight this solvable problem.
HomeWalk 2011
So this Saturday morning, November 19, 2011 let us meet up at the Exposition Park located at 700 Exposition Park Blvd, Los Angeles. Parking in the area is at ten dollars per vehicle.
If you can make it, the important times to remember are:
Registration Opens at 7:00 am.
The Opening Program starts at 8:30 am.
And the Run/Walk will begins at 9:00 am.
The Walk/Run Fee is $25, those under 18 are free.
If you cannot join, you can always give a donation to United Way, or you can donate to sponsor a runner or a group of runners. Find out how you can help at the website of United Way of LA and join hands with Kobe Bryant to solicit funds to help shelters and other institutions assisting the ever growing number of homeless people in LA.
See you there.
Like at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UWGLA
Home Walk 2011: http://www.homewalkLA.org
Homeless Capital of America
Read More About Homelessness in LA: The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority http://www.lahsa.org/
*Homeless in Los Angeless
(Living without a home and without an angel in the cash-strapped City of Angels)