At one point, he stayed at the corner of Wilshire and St. Andrews streets and spent the $5 to $10 he earned each day by collecting tin cans for alcohol.
Although Seok has been living in a house set up for Korean-American homeless people by Father Yohan Kim of St. James Episcopal Church for six years, he dreams of a better future.
“Everyone wants to make a living doing their own thing, but it’s hard to find a starting point,” Seok said.
After living in Guatemala for 30 years, Young-man Song, 69, came to Los Angeles expecting to find work but instead found himself on the cold streets.
He needs to earn money to pay for his schizophrenic wife’s medical bills and his son’s school fees, but he can’t find anyone who will help him because he is undocumented.
There are no Korean-American organizations or programs that can provide policy support for Korean-American homeless people who want to start over.
According to the LA Homeless Services Agency (LAHSA), there were 435 homeless people in Koreatown last year, with only 17 in shelters and 418 on the streets.
There are no accurate statistics on Korean American homelessness, but officials estimate the number to be between 100 and 200.
The city of Los Angeles has announced a massive commitment to solving homelessness-related problems, dedicating $1.3 billion, equaling 10 percent of its budget, to homeless services next year.
However, it’s a long way off for Korean-American homeless individuals. Even in the world of homelessness, Koreans are still a minority.
The five Korean-American homeless people we spoke to in Koreatown on June 9 were all determined to get back on their feet, but they said they were either unaware of homeless assistance policies or found it difficult to access them due to language barriers.
They particularly cited the difficulty of accessing job search information and the lack of organized support.
“No business will offer a job to a homeless person with no address and no phone number,” said Sunsu Jeon, 63, who has been homeless for three months at Olympic Boulevard and St. Andrews Place. “Homeless people need support from an organization that can build a bridge to help us take the first steps.”
Mainstream homeless support organizations, on the other hand, have case managers who work one-on-one with homeless people to help them find jobs and provide them with connections.
In fact, the lack of Korean-American organizations and programs that can systematically support Korean-American homeless people is a major reason for their underrepresentation, officials said.
According to LAHSA, the racial breakdown of the homeless is 42 percent Latino, 33 percent black, and 20 percent white. Only 1 percent are Asian.
“Korean-American homeless people are harder to count because they move frequently due to embarrassment,” said Steve Kang, director of external affairs at KYCC, “and the government doesn’t see the need to invest in the underestimated number of people.”
KYCC is the only official Asian and Korean American homeless advocacy organization in Los Angeles County. Other unofficial homeless support organizations include Ktown for All, Father’s Table Mission, and The Well Mission.
“Government support for the homeless is increasing, so there is no problem with funding, but there are fewer people who could actually support homeless individuals,” Kang said, noting that there aren’t many young people who are bilingual in Korean and English and can help the homeless.
BY SUAH JANG [support@koreadaily.com]
