据多家外媒报道，美国加州洛杉矶的威尼斯海滩本是一个旅游胜地，如今却挤满了无家可归之人。他们将帐篷搭建在海滩边，也有人用其他材料搭建起一个栖身之所。据法新社近日报道，威尼斯海滩上排列着200多个帐篷，生活垃圾和碎石块随处可见，卫生情况非常糟糕。空气中，尿液与防晒油的气味此起彼伏。
在当地纪念品商店工作的一位老人表示，从上世纪六七十年代起，该地区就一直有无家可归的人，但当时那些人大多为嬉皮士或者海滩爱好者。现在情况不一样了，如今无家可归的人数已经暴涨，且都是真正的穷人，身心状况都很糟糕。丹尼斯·蒂安杰罗是当地的一名无家可归者，她向法新社记者表示，过去一个月对她而言非常艰难，她唯一的栖身之处就是一把沙滩伞，睡眠已成为她的主要问题。
Venice Beach in California, which has been an attraction for surfers and tourists for decades, is now lined with the tents of homeless people.According to the AFP news agency, some 200 tents are sitting on Venice Beach and the area is a chaotic jumble of waste and detritus, and the hygiene conditions are appalling. "The smell of urine competes with that of suntan lotion."A 60-year-old assistant in a local souvenir shop said that the homeless is part of Venice folklore, but the number of homeless people in the area now is exploding. Instead of being hippies or beach bums, they are really poor people who are in bad condition both physically and mentally.除了糟糕的卫生条件和生活环境，这些无家可归者还面临着食物短缺、毒品泛滥和精神失常的问题，许多人变得暴躁，有很强的攻击性。
社交媒体上的视频片段显示，威尼斯海滩附近的无家可归者打架、骚扰路人、放火甚至出现暴力犯罪行为。据福克斯新闻报道，鲍勃•卡森在当地开了一家滑板店，三周前，店里的保安劝告无家可归者不要在门口停车区域吸烟，结果遭到对方的暴力攻击，因失血过多险些身亡。卡森还表示，他的商店被多次闯入，他自己也遭到了袭击。Videos on social media show that these homeless people, suffering from food shortages, drug problems and mental illness have become violent. They fight each other, harass passersby and set fires.A security guard at a local skateboard shop was attacked and stabbed three weeks ago after telling a homeless man not to drink in the parking lot, Fox News reported last week. This shop, according to the owner, was broken into several times and the owner himself was also attacked.据法新社报道，虽然加州一直以富有而闻名，但它也是美国穷人最多的州之一。新冠疫情爆发之前，洛杉矶县就有超6万无家可归者。当地机构称，造成这一状况的原因之一就是当地房租昂贵，经济适用房短缺。据报道，从2010年至2020年，当地房租上涨了65%，几乎是同期全美房租平均涨幅的两倍。根据美国住房和城市发展部发布的数据，2020年美国无家可归者约为58万。受疫情影响，美国经济遭受重创，许多公共服务陷入停滞，因此救助无家可归者的工作困难重重。Although famous for being rich, California is actually home to the largest homeless population in the U.S. In Los Angeles County alone, there were more than 66,000 homeless people before the pandemic, according to AFP.A local agency said one of the reasons is the lack of affordable houses. Rent in Los Angeles increased by 65% from 2010 to 2020, nearly twice the average rate of the country.