Skid row in the aftermath of a media firestorm

By Cynthia Lee

To the many readers who follow Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, 2005 was the year their eyes were opened to the heart-wrenching plight of the homeless living on skid row in downtown Los Angeles.
Through Lopez's columns, readers came to know about Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a man the columnist met playing classical music on his violin on L.A.'s mean streets. Once considered a music phenom, Ayers was diagnosed in the 1970s with schizophrenia while studying music at Julliard. He became Lopez's "passport" to skid row, where the homeless were assaulted daily by crime and squalor.
Caught in the glare of the media's spotlight, the inhumane treatment of its denizens became compelling reading. Also caught up in this media firestorm were four people who came to UCLA's School of Public Affairs Feb. 8 to talk about their individual responses, their regrets and the lessons they learned.
"Be Careful What You Wish For: When Media Attention Affects Social Policy" brought together Lopez with Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who has tried for years to bring basic city services to skid row, located in her district; the Rev. Andrew Bates, president of the Union Rescue Mission; Thomas Gilmore, the biggest developer in the area who specializes in rehabbing historic buildings downtown; and Adlai Wertman, a Senior Fellow at the school, who organized the forum. A public investment banker for 18 years, Wertman is now president and CEO of Chrysalis, a nonprofit organization that helps the homeless find jobs.
Lopez said he was simply looking for a good column when he came across Ayers playing in Pershing Square. After several months of visiting skid row, the journalist became a shocked eyewitness to "a total social collapse."
"We had created this human landfill, and I wanted everybody to know about it," Lopez said.
Those on the panel said they welcomed the stories and the new clamor among the public and politicians for solutions.
"Steve was acting as God's instrument and an answer to my prayers," said Bales, who has been working on homeless issues for 21 years. Gilmore, a former chair of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, agreed. "We saw it as a big win," the developer said.
Wertman pointed out that the media attention was lightning-quick, extremely compelling, and "embarrassing" to the city. The attention, said Perry, both elated and irritated her. Usually, the media only turned up at Thanksgiving to show volunteers serving turkey to the homeless, she said, adding that "skid row was easy to ignore because it's concentrated downtown." She said of those who were upset by the media's revelations: "I'm not sure where all these people have been for the last 20 years." Advocating for services and resources for the homeless had been a lonely mission for her.
Despite promises of funds and new policies that resulted from the media storm, the only follow-through has been a crackdown on drug dealers in the area by the Los Angeles Police Department, with an infusion of 50 additional police. More than 1,000 drug arrests have been made so far in the last five months.
The issue has brought to the surface many divisions among the city, the police, the mayor and the ACLU over policies to clean up skid row. There is also a rift between service providers, who want continued police presence, and homeless advocates, who don't want the homeless harassed by the police.
As for lessons learned, panelists said they wished they had responded faster with a clearer message when the media turned their focus onto skid row. Perry said she needed "to be more strategic in attracting media attention" and to do more outreach to the media.
While Gilmore basically accomplished what he set out to do — getting the predator drug dealers away from their prey — others said they should have stayed more focused on their goals.
"When suddenly the cameras were in our faces, we had different messages," Wertman said. The only reason any progress was made was because of the relationships that were already in place before the firestorm of publicity hit, he said.
Lopez himself said he "could have done a better job of sticking with this." He regretted not holding the mayor's "feet to the fire" when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa committed $50 million in housing funds to the homeless.
The money has not shown up yet.