Study of Homeless Finds Small Societies : Survey: Residents of encampments west of Downtown L.A. say they feel safer than in mass shelters.

Providing a glimpse into the gritty homeless camps popping up around Downtown Los Angeles, advocates for the homeless released a study Thursday on those who build their own mini-societies instead of staying in organized shelters.

Seeking to shatter some stereotypes, the Los Angeles Coalition to End Homelessness sent former homeless people and social service workers into the Downtown area in search of homeless encampments, the ramshackle collections of makeshift structures on sidewalks, under freeways and hidden in brush.

The researchers discovered 54 camps constructed of cardboard, plywood or sheets of plastic, with one to 20 people in each location.

Researchers found communities with camp leaders, furniture and separate sleeping, cooking and bathing areas. The bulk of the 134 people who were surveyed said they want a steady job and a place to live but also prefer the freedom of the streets to the confines of a mass shelter.

The inhabitants said they felt safer in their own camps and did not have to deal with restrictive rules at organized shelters or rent payments at low-cost hotel rooms. Some Latinos said organized shelters do not have enough Spanish-speaking personnel.

Very few of those interviewed said they would rather live on the streets than in their own room, leading homeless advocates to say that the camp residents are not unlike those who have homes.

“The survey basically reaffirmed the fact that homeless people want the same things that everyone else wants--a home and a decent standard of living, nothing more and nothing less,” said Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of the coalition.

The $10,000 survey, funded by various foundation grants, covered the area bounded by the Santa Monica Freeway on the south, Sunset Boulevard and Macy Street on the north, Hoover and Alvarado streets on the west and the Santa Ana Freeway on the east. The survey purposely avoided Skid Row, the Downtown homeless enclave that has been the subject of many studies.

The survey found that one-third of the camp inhabitants make money begging on street corners or at freeway ramps.

But about the same number reported working in short-term jobs such as loading trucks and gardening. Two-thirds said they collect cans and bottles. (Respondents could report more than one way of making money.)

About 40% said they had a problem with drugs or alcohol.

More than one-third of those surveyed had already received job training to become mechanics, computer programmers or electricians or to fill other jobs. Of those surveyed, 94% said they would take a job that allowed them to use their job skills.

“The people who are living in street camps and under bridges and under freeways are a whole lot more like you and I than you and I ever suspected,” said homeless activist Gary Blasi, a UCLA law professor.

Blasi said he followed some of the homeless around as they collected cans and bottles and was surprised by how hard they worked.

Coalition members also criticized the Board of Supervisors for cutting monthly general relief payments from $293 to $212, saying it would put more people on the streets.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Hernandez, whose district includes much of the study area, agreed with the coalition members that government needs to redouble its efforts. “We need to understand that government as a whole has chosen to allow these conditions to exist,” he said.