VOA常速英语:美国房租太贵，无家可归人数增加

The signs of homelessness are everywhere in Los Angeles, it is a life Destiny Prescott knows too well.“I was sleeping in a car; sleeping at the beach.”“We are seeing, you know, an increasing homelessness at an accelerating rate in Los Angeles.”Advocates say one of the main causes of homelessness is a tight supply of rental housing in areas where the poverty rate is already high.
无家可归的迹象在洛杉矶随处可见。戴斯特妮·普雷科特对这种生活深有感触。“我当时只能在车里面、在沙滩上过夜。”“你知道，我们可以看到，洛杉矶无家可归的人越来越多。”支持者认为，导致人们无家可归的主要原因之一是，在那些贫困率很高的地区，出租房源供应紧张。

“As the economy picks up steam, there’s more spending power (that) comes into the rental market,and a lot of it goes out again as rent increases.So rents are moving up $100, $200 at a pub (a month), no one’s income is keeping pace with that.”“The rich are getting richer and the middle class is slowly disappearing.”
“随着经济回暖，出租市场的消费能力会相应增加，但由于租金上涨，人们的消费能力很大程度上又会降低。所以酒吧的租金每个月就会上涨100美元，200美元。但人们的收入跟不上租金的涨幅。”“富人越来越富有，中产阶级在慢慢消失。”

Venice, a beach community in Los Angeles, is a place where homeless encampments and multimillion-dollar homes live side-by-side.“Residents find homeless people in their backyards, defecating in their backyards. The city needs to do more to serve the homeless that are vulnerable,they need to do more to serve the residents that are making the investment.”
威尼斯，洛杉矶的一个海滨社区，在那里，既有无家可归者的营地，也有百万富翁的豪宅。“居民常看到无家可归的人在自家后院排便。城市需要做更多的工作来为无家可归者服务，他们很容易受到伤害。相关部门也需要做更多的工作来为在海边买房的这些居民提供服务。”

One approach adopted by Los Angeles and around the country is the Housing First model,where a homeless person is put into permanent housing without requirements such as attending parenting classes or being free of addiction.
洛杉矶和全国其他地方采取的方法是“住房第一”模式，为无家可归的人提供永久性居所，而对入住者没有参加亲子课或者不吸毒的要求。

“The human mind needs to have a home, a safe space,and so whatever it takes we should be developing innovative approaches to creating those safe spaces that people control.”
“人的心灵需要有一个家，一个安全的空间，所以无论如何，我们都应该用创新的方法，来创造出人们可以掌控的安全空间。”

“You know, you put them in housing, and then you wrap around cares. So you have home visits and case management and health care and mental health care.”
“你知道，为他们提供住房，然后还需要关心很多方面的问题。比如：医生要到病人家里出诊，病例的管理，另外还有卫生保健和心理保健。”

Destiny Prescott and her daughter found help at a housing program called PATH Gramercy.“We’re in our own space. We get to lock our door. We have our key. Like, um... It just feels nice. It makes me feel good.”
戴斯特妮·普雷科特和她的女儿得到了一个名为“PATH Gramercy”的住房项目的帮助。“我们能待在属于自己的空间。可以锁上门。还有自己的钥匙。嗯，这种感觉很好。这让我感觉很好。”

It’s the kind of solution Los Angeles hopes expand on:building new housing and turning existing buildings into permanent housing for the homeless.
洛杉矶希望能将这一解决方案扩大化：建造新的住房，把现有的建筑物变成无家可归者的永久性住房。

Elizabeth Lee, VOA News, Los Angeles.
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