Her street name was Stitches because thats what you get if you mess with her or her friends, Cat said: Shell bust you up, but shes compassionate.. Transportation was a chronic stressor: Anns vaccinations and well-baby checkups were an hours bus ride away in Boyle Heights. Ten days later, Kerr and Mckenzie screeched past a sign reading, Dont abandon your baby, and into the parking lot for White Memorials labor and delivery center. Immaculately pressed clothing was arrayed on racks in the South Los Angeles showroom. Mckenzie said later she wasnt sure what happened, but she understood that she no longer qualified as chronically homeless because she was in transitional housing; she had to be on the sidewalk or in a shelter to get the voucher. There was no mention in the court documents of testing the substance. She wore a 90s-style punk choker and a necklace with a pendant shaped like brass knuckles. It dont make sense., Speaking generally of the voucher system, Tod Lipka, president and chief executive of Step Up, said, Its a ridiculous game of cat-and-mouse to make sure someone who has been on the street doesnt somehow disqualify themselves., I dont know what I would do if it wasnt for [Ann] at the end of the day, Mckenzie said later. The path out of homelessness was choked with bureaucracy, and multi-specialist teams were state of the art, endorsed by Californias Legislature. Mckenzie daydreamed about moving into one of the shabby but stately foursquare houses around Gramercy. The group had a big homeless following; 15% of those surveyed at a Los Angeles youth drop-in center in 2016 identified as Juggalos. A girl was found at Camp Pendleton more than two weeks after she had been reported missing, according to her family, who alleges she was . In October, at an obstetrics office adjacent to the hospital, Dr. Dominique Luckey noted that Mckenzies baby bump looked small for a late-stage pregnancy a concern because low birth weight, which is often associated with drug use, can affect the babys health. Husband's sex addiction shook Eliza's life like an 'earthquake' but she I became a mother at the age of 16 and moved into House of Dawn Second Chance Home when I was 17 and my daughter was two years of age. The medical assistants were unable to draw blood from Mckenzie because her veins had been damaged by IV drug use. Meanwhile, an even more virulent variant is vrooming through India. Mckenzies services team was made up of staff from three of L.A.s top homelessness agencies. I f hate you, Eddie.. Photographer Follows Pregnant Homeless Woman in LA Over 4 Years Fax: 415.546.6778. Eddie makes a Hello Kitty drawing for Mckenzie on her birthday. A court-ordered assessment found that Ann had reached all her developmental milestones and was happy, with the exception of the trauma over separation from her mother, Mckenzie said. Since 1985, the nonprofit which offers classes ranging from personal finance to parenting and birth control has provided a lifeline to nearly 25 homeless, pregnant women each year. Mckenzie looks out on traffic on the 101 Freeway in Hollywood, where her encampment clings to a steep embankment. 1 Altmetric Metrics Abstract Objective Investigate the association between maternal homelessness at the time of delivery and perinatal outcomes, with a focus on neonatal health outcomes. She expresses shame and anguish that they were taken from her, and regrets that she didnt have a chance to celebrate their birthdays with them or to walk through the park with one clinging to her finger, as she had seen other children do with their parents. 47 and George Gascn? A case plan called for Mckenzie to enter a six-month drug treatment program, undergo weekly random drug testing, and a psychiatric and psychological evaluation and take all prescribed psychotropic medications. Family says girl found at Camp Pendleton was raped by Marine - Los Pregnant and Parenting Youth. Its very well known that users backslide after treatment at a very high rate, but Im not sure we know how to stop that. Mckenzie sat on the curb outside Dennys as the afternoon light died away. They expressed concern over Eddies HIV-positive status and her past drug use. I love you, but youre a weirdo, she told her. The appointment had been called off because the clinic wasnt equipped to handle a high-risk pregnancy. At the one-hour mark, the receptionist sent her and Eddie into the hall: You can only wait in this lobby for 20 minutes.. Cat said the substance in the rolled-up bill was powdered aspirin she had given Mckenzie for a toothache. Read about Mckenzie here, then check out sidebars on her mother, her case worker, and a brief essay by Gale about how she did the story. They clung to a steep embankment above eight lanes of whooshing traffic on the 101 Freeway. And now, heres whats happening across California: Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing. I aint never been a prostitute in my life, and never will be, she said. Mckenzie pleaded no contest in 2020 in the Bellflower case to driving without a license and misdemeanor meth possession, although she said she was unaware the contraband was in the friends car. I dont want to deal with the same s I ran away from back then., Samantha Sowards, a homeless housing consultant, said teaching middle-class life skills to former foster kids who lived in the streets was not like asking them to go to the moon; its more like saying, Build a rocket ship and go to the moon. . Sacramento County Department of Human . (The court denied The Times request to attend the proceeding or obtain a transcript.) While this can be difficult for any woman who is . Youth must be between 16 and less than 22 years of age to enter the program.. CAP Solano JPA provides oversight and coordination of homeless and safety net services to the residents of Solano County and serves as the conduit for safety net funding support. During their time together, Mckenzie Trahan did everything the Los Angeles homelessness system asked of her, case manager Leslie Kerr said. Opinion: I worked with Leslie Van Houten when she was in prison. Growing up, Mckenzies life with her mother, Cat, was difficult. Hell, yes, I want an interview, she said. Solano County - Housing & Homelessness - Solano County, California Submitted image The week before she delivered,. Also I had grown up seeing what used to be called Hollywood runaways and was always curious who they were. Pregnant and Parenting Youth Providing housing and care for young families Covenant House is one of only a handful of centers for youth overcoming homelessness and survivors of human trafficking that offer residential services and holistic care to young families. The governor's office defended this approach to funding . Go to: INTRODUCTION These are the type of programs where you hold peoples hand you get them to the interview, you hold their hand; and you get them to the doctors office, you hold their hand; and you get them to parole. And its not happening, Cat said in September. He looked down at the ground, eyes closed and head in hand. Mckenzie was elated. Take a look inside. Rising housing costs that have exceeded growth in wages, particularly for lowincome households, put Californians at risk of housing instability and homelessness. Homelessness in pregnancy: perinatal outcomes | Journal of - Nature Eddie had committed to co-parenting. Mckenzie was 22, and 6 months pregnant. Families and partners who dont want the worry of a child sometimes throw women out when they become pregnant. Runaway and Homeless Youth | The Administration for Children and - ACF In May 2020 1 years after her arrival at Gramercy Mckenzie got a voucher and moved into an apartment in East Hollywood. Stunning spread of BA.5 subvariant shows why this California COVID wave is different. Los Angeles Times, Leaked Sheriffs Department surveillance video shows inmate beaten by deputies. Eliza didn't know where to turn for help when she found out about her husband's sex addiction. She recounted how a man she sold dope to handcuffed her to the toilet in a Hollywood motel room, shot her up with cocaine, heroin and speed, and tried to beat her into becoming a sex worker. Barney, a 65-year-old man who lost his leg in a car accident prior to becoming homeless, was the final person she interviewed. They bounced from state to state, never sinking roots, Mckenzie said. A court commissioner approved a warrant to place Ann in protective custody. Photo by Julie A Hotz for CalMatters. Im lonely believe that but its worth it. The court granted Mckenzie visitation, but she worried that her daughter didnt seem herself. Any time we would face an issue we would flee, Mckenzie said, sneezing into the elbow of her fleece top. The two-week program offered individual counseling and a career readiness assessment, workshops, group sessions and classes in cognitive behavioral health a regimen aimed at stopping participants from returning to crime or substance addiction patterns. Facing her first-ever separation from her 3-month-old, Mckenzie nervously threw together a diaper bag with extra clothes and bottles and dropped Ann off at Gramercys ground-floor child-care center. Now I have to keep it, Mckenzie recalled later, laughing and crying together. Tall and slender with pastel rainbow-colored hair, almond eyes and a gap between her front teeth she was quite proud of Mckenzie had a shaved swoop on the side of her scalp tattooed Hollywoods Finest. She dressed mostly in pink and purple, and her tent held an array of Hello Kitty merchandise, an amplifier and other electronic equipment she used to work on her rapping. Covenant House Provides Shelter for Pregnant & Parenting Women She was one of the face-painted fans known as Juggalos who followed the outsider band Insane Clown Posse. Their objective was to tell the story of women at the cusp of the shifting response to some of the gravest social problems: intergenerational poverty, homelessness, child neglect, mental health, foster care and addiction. Im not used to being by myself all the f time, she said. I couldnt clean my house because your mind goes other places, dude.. Mckenzie, right, and her mother Cat walk with baby Ann down the hallways at Adventist Health White Memorial hospital in Boyle Heights. Johnson said he was shown a picture of a dollar bill with an unknown crystal-like substance piled on it. They drifted apart. As kids, Mckenzie and Bojorquez had stayed together in Hollywood bandos, or abandoned buildings, and their relationship turned romantic after Mckenzies breakup with Eddie. Were still part of the community, still part of the world. She opens a gift, above left, for her baby as her mom, Cat, looks on from her tent in Hollywood. I was like, No, no, no, hell no, Mckenzie said, recalling that August 2018 evening. But she was determined. She was once homeless. Community Shelters and Resources can be found here. Finding a homeless woman in an advanced stage of pregnancy in a tent in the heart of Hollywoods real estate boom is shocking. Im just playing the waiting game, waiting for them to tell me something about my housing, she said in May 2019. The daytime bustle on Sunset Boulevard was giving way to nighttime flash. But Hollywood could be treacherous. Mckenzie walked out of the agencys office south of downtown Los Angeles crowing. Ann would remain in foster care. Find Immediate Homelessness Assistance | SAMHSA She went AWOL from one foster care group home after another. And on June 29, she delivered a healthy baby girl named Artemis. The intake person at the Turning Point drug testing center in Baldwin Hills greeted Mckenzie icily. She was born in Hong Kong and lived in Amman, Jordan, until she was 18. But progress on her housing voucher had sputtered and then stalled. PDF CalWORKs 170 Special-Needs-and-Diversion - California Dept. of Social A PATH administrator complained that Ann had diaper rash and sniffles because Mckenzie was running around too much. Homeless young women are nearly five times more likely to become pregnant and more likely still to experience repeat pregnancies than those who are housed. Hollywoods Finest: Introducing Mckenzie. But Kerr had moved to eastern Washington, Tomasik and her kids had relocated to Las Vegas, and Eddie was living under a bridge. She and her friends fought and caroused up and down Hollywood Boulevard, sleeping on cardboard on street corners or in doorways. Hello Kitty everything, yes, Mckenzie murmured as she walked out of the exam room. Mckenzie Trahan found herself pregnant and homeless in Hollywood. This is your chance, baby girl, said Cat, then 57. A plan to house up to 10,000 homeless people on the former Sears campus in Boyle Heights draws backlash from residents. I cant call myself a mom because Ive never been there long enough to be a mom.. In January, Mckenzie and Eddie volunteered to be tested for drugs. The CalWORKs Homeless Assistance (HA) Program was established to help families in the CalWORKs program meet the costs of securing or maintaining permanent housing or to provide emergency shelter when a family is experiencing homelessness. Still, the deadline weighed heavily on Mckenzie, who was laser-focused on finding a permanent home that couldnt be snatched away. Netflix employees were badging out of the Icon, the streaming giants cantilevered glass tower. But her daughters pregnancy brought her back to L.A. 15% of those surveyed at a Los Angeles youth drop-in center in 2016 identified as Juggalos. Homelessness, reproductive health & pregnancy | The Homeless Hub While homelessness is a complex problem with many causes, the high costs of housing is a significant factor in the state's homelessness crisis. Skirts were knee-length or longer, nail polish and hose came in nude. Homeless assistance is available to meet the reasonable costs of securing permanent housing, We met a world of young homeless people above the 101 Freeway in Hollywood, many who had grown up in foster care and the juvenile detention systems. It was commendable that she got off [drugs] for as long as she did without any kind of program, Kerr said. Johnson, in his protective custody application, had checked boxes concluding, without substantiation, that Ann was suffering severe emotional damage and was in danger of physical or sexual abuse.. We meet these often frightened and lost women at the point of their immediate need, and then walk alongside them on their journey providing for their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Thats how she survived; that and the support of her friends mainly homeless teens from the foster care or juvenile justice systems, scarred by economic marginalization, and some by racism as well. At age 11, Mckenzie ran away, started using drugs and landed in juvenile hall in Nevada. Nearly 28% of people experiencing homelessness in California are considered chronically homeless. The homeless system is not designed to address and unpack all of the other systemic failures that have led somebody to where they are today, said Heidi Marston, who resigned in May as executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. She was placed in a foster home. The dress code modern hip at one agency threw her for a loop. The agency began phasing out the child-care facilitys infant room in anticipation of the remodel, effectively cutting Mckenzies babysitting hours. Gramercy staff strongly encouraged Mckenzie and the other new mothers to find work. The staff here gives me the kind of guidance I needed to excel in life. As the months passed without a job or permanent housing, Mckenzie wasnt feeling supported, and her relationship with PATH staff began to fray. I couldnt even imagine not having her now.. And we do not appear to have the resources needed to effectively tackle the meth epidemic. Drugs the caller suspected meth were discovered in a folded dollar bill in the bathroom, the social worker wrote. (Morgan Dunlop/CBC) Most nights, Amanda . Mckenzie breastfeeds her daughter in their apartment. Eddie had lost his spot at a Step Up housing program and was living in a giant facility for homeless people on skid row, which Mckenzie refused to visit with the baby. After smiling appreciatively at her image in the mirror, Mckenzie twirled for her mother, Cat. Ann kicked off the ground and flew through the air, Superman style, to grab it. Watts said Mckenzie displayed the type of pride one would have if you graduated from college as she stood to read a final statement on her hopes and dreams: I needed to accept for a long time that I wont and havent made the best decisions but that my past failure wasnt the opposite of my success, but my path to my success, Mckenzie said. Napan Crystal Ellis, formerly homeless and pregnant, has since found housing. The tire shop was closing up, and tenants at the Harold Apartments were climbing the spiral staircases to their rooftop decks. In some ways, though, I think we covered these women at this depth because they were fascinating, vibrant people and they welcomed us. PATH Find Immediate Assistance Find Immediate Assistance Use these free helplines, directories, and support organizations for assistance with homelessness, domestic violence, or mental health issues. ), Some of the friends shed made at Project ImPACT got good jobs, but they were exceptions. FAQs: Homeless | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban He was not himself; at times he walked around the Dennys parking lot talking to himself. Jelani House - Homeless Prenatal Program Her mother was at her side. Ive met my colleague Gale Holland, who covers homelessness and poverty, only once: at an L.A. Times Guild get-together back in 2018. PATH had a no-visitor policy, which meant neither Cat nor Anns father, Eddie, could come into the room. The challenge is how to help them. Im terrified, Mckenzie sobbed to Kerr. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. At Trade Technical College, Mckenzie walked warily down the glistening fluorescent-lighted hallways, looking as if shed been taken hostage. Im so scared. She did the interview but said she never heard back. Mckenzies studio apartment on the second floor of Gramercy had a kitchenette and bathroom, and she brightened it with drawings of dolphins, a feathered dream catcher and cutouts of Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore and Disney villains. The long-read article that the team created is entitled: Pregnant, homeless, and living in a tent: Meet Mckenzie. Cat, her grandmother, is still homeless. Mckenzie collects her thoughts while a friend plays with her daughter. Abstract. Her case manager, Kerr, was with The People Concern; Step Up provided a drug counselor, housing navigator and therapist; and PATH assigned her an employment specialist, another case manager and a housing coordinator. In her mind, she was being punished for her past, just as she had feared she would when she agonized over the pregnancy. HUD Releases 2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part 1 See all of the stories in this series at, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Los Angeles Times wins Pulitzer Prizes for covering homelessness and City Council leak, Mckenzies journey through motherhood and homelessness. Not that many give up, said Cheryl Davis, PATH housing navigator and client advocate. Los Angeles Times, A Cambodian American police officer helps his community heal and look forward. What do you mean transitional living means they dont qualify? she asked her housing consultant. A confidential call came in to the child protection hotline alleging that Mckenzie was neglecting her child. Noting the varied challenges homeless, pregnant women often face, HPP uses an evidenced-based, trauma-informed approach to family care. Reporting this story was fun at times, heartbreaking at others, and very difficult which I think of as a taste of what homeless people experience everyday. The worst stigma a. Housing Programs - California Dept. of Social Services They took care of her., Mckenzies phone rang: This is the North County Correctional Facility. To hear your payment options, press 1., Face! Mckenzie cried over the jail phone line, addressing her friend by his street name. Its about the crap Ive been through, especially on the streets, she said. Her giddiness was cut with sadness over the absence of Ann, present only in the photo gallery Mckenzie had mounted on her wall. Actors said they were making progress in contract talks, then they werent. Reporting an L.A. pregnant homeless woman's life since 2018 - Los After a shooting on her street, Mckenzie moved to Glendale. The doctor suggested waiting to learn the gender, but Mckenzie wanted to know now. The same month, a confidential call came in to the child protection hotline alleging that Mckenzie was neglecting Ann. Angels Way Maternity Home in Southern California is a refuge for homeless pregnant women who have been abandoned by their support system at this most vulnerable and critical time in their lives. Were proud of you! friends called out as Mckenzie and Kerr drove off. The odds were heavily stacked against her raising her child to adulthood. Jelani House. Not that theres anything to worry about, she said. PATH was opening three other interim housing projects, including one for women and children, and administrators promised no one at Gramercy would be turned out into the streets. Days later, police picked her up on a juvenile probation violation after finding her in the stairwell of a Bed Bath & Beyond store on the ground floor of a swanky new condo building in Hollywood. A baby could represent new possibilities something unsullied by all the tragedy the individual has experienced, said Khiara Bridges, a UC Berkeley law professor who has studied poverty and pregnancy. Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. The judge reproached Mckenzie for messing up despite the support she had received from the homelessness services system and detained Ann, according to Mckenzie and a friend who accompanied her to the hearing. Casa Teresa | A Loving Home for Pregnant Women in Crisis. The LA County Health Department reports that each year 5,000 women are homeless at some point during their pregnancy. Mckenzie found herself largely alone, 24/7, with a newborn. Im columnist Gustavo Arellano (so Im allowed to have opinions, gentle readers! New Yorker. Cat talks regularly with Ann over FaceTime and said her granddaughter, now 3, speaks Spanish and English and is doing great. But Cat worries she could be pushed out of Anns life. Her mother, Cynthia Mama Cat Trahan, was taken from her mom at age 5 and placed in foster care. Harvest Home After spending a good four years with Mckenzie, her daughter, and her mother, do you plan to continue to check in with them? She pleaded no contest to driving without a license and misdemeanor meth possession, although she said she was unaware the contraband was in her friends car. The program also set participants up with job training. Small bottle 50 cents, large bottle $1., Mckenzie made repeated calls on her cellphone to have authorization for drug testing sent over. 'I'm not doing anything wrong,' says Amanda Watson, 21, who is homeless in Toronto, and pregnant with her second child. I never went to high school, dude, she said as she approached the ImPACT office. Im just supposed to be stuck here. Days later, Ann turned 1. A non-angry story from Huntington Beach! Cat took the news of Anns removal hard, accusing Mckenzie of taking her granddaughters birthday away from her. Maybe Gov. Instead of worrying about and criticizing if I had already gotten high, why wont you prevent me from getting high? Mckenzie said later. San Diego: partly cloudy, 71. Box 221155 Sacramento, CA 95822 Ph (916) 395-9370 If you are in urgent need you may also contact us. From a home for troubled girls in La Verne, she caught a bus for Hollywood. We remain in contact with Mckenzie and her mother, Mama Cat, and dont expect that to change. The Need. Sacramento: less hot but hella more humid, 93. A PATH Gramercy administrator said Mckenzie was sleeping or out walking around instead of job hunting. And hauling Ann in her stroller up the steep staircase in the aging Gramercy building there was no elevator aggravated the young mothers old back problem and her C-section incision. Mckenzie replied: You helped start a battle and then left me alone to fight it.. She ran away at age 11, started using drugs, and was in and out of juvenile hall and foster care placements. Paul Pringle another colleague whom Ive met just once is out with a new book about the investigation he led into Troy, and the battle he led within a previous regime in our newsroom. Its an ominous harbinger for Los Angeles, where multigenerational homelessness is not uncommon and the system is not equipped to meet the needs of people with such profound struggles. By April, Charlene Tomasik, 54, who was recovering from addiction and whom Mckenzie described as the guardian angel of Hollywood street kids had become her main support and chauffeur. From her vantage point, Mckenzie should have been able to see her encampment. People experiencing homelessness who menstruate have the additional burden of managing their periods a monthly occurrence that is unavoidable and expensive. Her friends beat him up and freed her. Buzzfeed. She officially joined the visual journalism team in 2017 after 10 years as a freelance photographer. Hosted by Natalie Kitroeff . I feel like I just pop babies out, she said, wiping away tears during a sidewalk conversation outside Dennys. Homelessness in California. These women have hopes and dreams like anybody else, said Heather Carmichael, executive director of My Friends Place, a leading Hollywood youth homeless agency. California would need to spend $8.1 billion a year for a dozen years to eliminate homelessness in the state, according to a report by the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the California Housing Partnership, two nonprofit advocacy groups.. Do you or someone you love need immediate help with homelessness, domestic violence, or mental illness? A pregnant Mckenzie Trahan, top, with boyfriend Eddie near their tent on the streets of Hollywood.
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