Los Angeles Youth Network: Hollywood Shelter

1550 N. Gower Street (Between Sunset & Hollywood)
Los Angeles, CA 90068

Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles is famously known around the world for its Walk of Fame, Academy Awards, and television studios and unless you are involved in the homeless youth subculture of Hollywood it is easy to miss the several teen homeless shelters located near major Hollywood landmarks. Youth become homeless because of family problems, economic problems, and residential instability. Many youth leave because of drug addiction in the family and abuse. LA County currently has the largest foster care system in the nation with 35,236 children. About 7,500 of those youth are currently between the ages of 13 and 17. Fifty-nine percent of minors who are in foster care/homeless are Latino and 26.2% are African-American. It is evenly split among gender, 50% male and 50% female. The Los Angeles Youth Network is a non-profit organization that serves the homeless teen population in the Hollywood area in efforts to protect and house youth.

The Los Angeles Youth Network (LAYN) began as a pilot program through Children’s Hospital Los Angeles High Risk Youth Project after the California Homeless Youth Act (CHYA) passed in 1985. The CHYA recognized that over 200,000 youth experienced homelessness in California and that the state had no clear policy to reduce youth homelessness. This Act declared homeless youth a special needs population and proposed continued shelter and services for these youth. Due to the decreased availability of affordable housing because of urban development and decreased public benefits homelessness became a grave national issue beginning in the 1970’s, according to research figures published by the National Coalition for the Homeless in 2005. Homeless and runaway youth often choose to come to Hollywood because of its unique subculture, reputation, warm weather, and availability of outreach services. Because services are located relatively close, youth are able to conveniently access them. Only blocks away from this facility are other teen shelters. Many people in the community are unaware that such facilities are in their neighborhood and are unaware of its services.





The LAYN Hollywood Youth Shelter had a mural on the front of the facility that was painted in 1994 and was then painted over in 2009 during renovation. The mural showed Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz sleeping on a yellow brick road. She had suitcases with her and there were rats around her and her food basket. The mural also showed a silhouette of the Wicked Witch of the West with smaller depictions of knives, needles, guns, bullets and pills. Lastly, there are stars on the yellow brick road (like those on the Walk of Fame) with inspiring words such as hope and courage. The Dorothy mural symbolized Dorothy trying to find her way home. These teen homeless shelters portray a different story of Hollywood and Los Angeles that depicts the disparity between economic classes, poverty, and class struggle. While Hollywood is a tourist attraction to folks around the world, it is also a safe haven for young people in search for stability and safety.



For More Information
Dunitz, Robin J. Street Gallery: A Guide to 1000 Los Angeles Murals. Los Angeles, CA: RJD Enterprises, 1993.

Komen, Matt. "Los Angeles Youth Network." May 4, 2013. www.layn.org