Skid Row in Los Angeles battles poverty, drug addiction

The Associated Press

6 years ago

Bearing cuts all over his face, a homeless drug addict, who said his name is April Jane, aimlessly stares into space on a sidewalk in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A mentally ill homeless woman cries out while holding a pay phone after running through several blocks of downtown Los Angeles, yelling and screaming Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

D. J. Meek, a 40-year-old homeless drug addict, smokes crystal meth Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. Meeks’ veins are collapsed due to chronic use of heroin. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A homeless man wobbles back and forth tearing a cardboard box into pieces Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Samuel Raymond, 50, holds up a banner saying “Jesus Loves You” on a sidewalk as a passing homeless man reaches into a trash can in search of anything of value Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Homeless drug addict Andrew Hudson, 33, reacts as he injects himself with heroin next to an angel statue Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Wearing a pair of American flag socks, homeless Stafford Wilson, 48, stands in front of his tent while dancing to music Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Using a teddy bear named Michelle as a pillow, Manuel Martinez, a 45-year-old homeless day laborer originally from Mexico, falls asleep on a sidewalk in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Three homeless people take a nap on a sidewalk in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles Monday, Nov. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES — The Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles is home to thousands of chronically homeless people.

Each one has a different story about how they ended up in this center of abject poverty, where drugs rule the streets night and day.

“It’s miserable quitting, or trying — trying anything,” 33-year-old Andrew Hudson said recently while using heroin on Skid Row.

America’s homeless population increased this year for the first time since 2010, driven by a surge in the number of people living on the streets in Los Angeles and other West Coast cities.

According to the latest nationwide count, four of every 10 people who are homeless in the U.S. have a serious drug addiction or are severely mentally ill.

Also, San Diego is struggling with a homeless crisis. In a place that bills itself as “America’s Finest City,” spiraling real estate values have contributed to spiraling homelessness, leaving more than 3,200 people living on the streets or in their cars.