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Artificial intelligence (AI) is the new normal in every industry these days and every market niche is fast adopting it. Whether it is healthcare or retail, fashion, manufacturing or even banking, all are ready to use AI to innovate new ways of business all along making their customers experience memorable.Going forward, AI is becoming the new necessary technology to survive in the market. From supporting smart infrastructure to helping to be more efficient with our natural resources and smart agriculture to feed a growing population, the need of every business of all industries to make services user friendly has created a positive environment for AI startups. Chat robots, conversational robots, smart cars, video games, Siri, Google Now etc. all are few examples of AI technology. AI has also started to touch the new segments like HR and recruitment and seen increased investor and tech giants interest who has been coming ahead to support startups in this area for fueling the growth of overall industry. Let’s take a look of ‘Top Artificial Intelligence Start-ups’ in India.AIndra Systems (AINDRA | Home )Aindra Systems is a leading Artificial Intelligence technology based startup which is well known for developing an affordable device that help in detection and screening of cervical cancer. Founded in 2012, Aindra Systems headquarters in Bangalore, Karnataka. Its patent-pending Face-Recognition (FR) technology is powering a Smartphone based product, which is helping in improving and enhancing the productivity of different programmes used in service segment. This startup is a brainchild of Adarsh Natarajan, an IIM Bangalore graduate who is committed to deliver various technology solutions to improve productivity and governance of different services in remote locations. The tech products developed by this platform work with laptops, desktops with webcam, smart phones, tablets, etc. to validate the users identity for receiving any service on the basis of ID cards issued by the Government. The startup helps to identifying people through their biological specimens, demographics, objects and gestures etc. The startup has secured an undisclosed amount of funding in 2014 from Villgro, a social enterprise incubator focused on funding startups having a social impact.Arya.ai (Phrazor - AI-Powered Data Stories)Arya.ai is simplifying the process of building “AI” technology! It develops tools to make the complex process of building of new Intelligent Systems simple. The startup was founded in 2013 with an aim to create new ‘intelligent’ technology that can solve complex problems easily and at a much faster speed.The idea behind this startup was of Vinay Kumar Sankarapu and Deekshith Marla who are IIT Bombay researchers and enthusiastic to make intelligent machines that can help human beings in making fast decisions at professional end. The tools provided by Arya.ai helps other AI technology developers to build their own AI systems. This startup secured US$750,000 funding amount in pre-series A round from YourNest Angel fund and VentureNursery, an angels backed accelerator.Brainasoft (Brainasoft - Home )Brainasoft founded in 2010 is the next name in our list of startups that are into this trendy tussle! The startup is developing AI solutions like machine learning, language processing and human-computer interface. Akash Shastri, Founder, Brainasoft has started this company alone and worked single-handedly till 2015. The TechRadar has selected its flagship software ‘Braina Virtual Assistant’ as one of the Top 10 Best Software 2015. Braina can do speech to text dictation in third party software and can play songs and videos online from local stores.The startup is currently developing next generation technology software like Graphical Command Line Interface (GCLI), Human Language Interface (HLI), and Human Language Programming (HLP) etc. to make different operations quick and easy. Its ‘Inforobo’ product allows users to develop their own AI virtual assistant easily.Morph.ai - Build Chatbots for WhatsApp, Facebook and, Website (Morph.ai - Build Chatbots for WhatsApp, Facebook and, Website )Morph.ai - Build Chatbots for WhatsApp, Facebook and, Website is committed to cater the needs of bot makers. It is a B2B platform where small enterprises can build their own conversational services to set out them on available channels including facebook, twitter, SMS, live-chat, in-app chat etc. to stay connected with the customers through personal engagement. Businesses can send messages to give their customers personalized experiences and transform them into business lead. The startup company was co-founded by Pratik Jain and three others in 2016 in Gurgaon this year only.Mad Street Den (http://vue.ai/ )Next name in the list is Mad Street Den! Founded by Anand Chandrasekaran and Ashwani Asokan in early 2014, this startup is registered in the U.S. but mainly based in Chennai. It was working to develop technologies that can add convenience in e-commerce business and aims to revolutionizing the industry by providing personalized shopping experiences to the customers. Its retail vertical http://Vue.ai is helping in increasing businesses of online retailers around the world. It identifies customers’ preferences of colours, style, pattern and texture etc. and drives product discovery accordingly. It helps online retailers to add in conversions whereas for customers point, it helps in product discovery. The startup has raised its Series-A funding from Sequoia India and other existing investors together with growX Ventures and Exfinity Ventures.Bharat's very own full stack Ramu Kaka is ushering Bharat into Internet Economy 2.0. (Bharat's very own full stack Ramu Kaka is ushering Bharat into Internet Economy 2.0. )Bharat's very own full stack Ramu Kaka is ushering Bharat into Internet Economy 2.0. is providing new generation online shopping experience. It was founded by four friends who are IIT-Kharagpur alumni in April 2015! The founding team that includes Keshav Prawasi, Jaiswal, Nitin Babel and Shishir Modi started working on this idea in Udaipur and soon moved to Bangalore. Bharat's very own full stack Ramu Kaka is ushering Bharat into Internet Economy 2.0. app help in different tasks including cab bookings, mobile recharge and lots other in a simple way. It helps users to complete online purchase easily through an AI-powered bot which is a chat interface. With this chat interface, retailers need not to use multiple apps for making end-to-end bookings possible. It also recommends personalized services to the users that suit them best. Users can discover, choose, and make payment to complete their order through this chat interface only. Bharat's very own full stack Ramu Kaka is ushering Bharat into Internet Economy 2.0. is backed by Ratan Tata and aims to be a one stop destination for all online purchasing.SigTuple (Sigtuple )ALSO READ :Four Best Creative Designing Agency Startup to Look Out in 2021SigTuple is another AI startup which is focusing primarily in healthcare segment and helping doctors by mechanizing disease diagnosis and screening for better solution. The company was started by Apurv Anand, Tathagato Rai Dastidar and Rohit Kumar Pandey in 2015.Based in Bengaluru, SigTuple built an algorithm that can be applied in medical data through a cloud based intelligent platform which is low cost and trustworthy too. This system helps in improving the accuracy of diagnosis with standardized methods. This startup has received seed investment from a group of prominent investors including Venture Capital firm Accel Partners, Flipkart founders Sachin & Binny Bansal, and other angel investors.Skedool (Talent Lifecycle Management Solution )My Ally which is formerly known as http://Skedool.it is currently working in the area of scheduling. The startup was founded in 2015 by Naveen Verma and Deepti Yenireddy with an aim to make major changes in virtual assistant and scheduling. Skedool is a unify tool of AI and human intelligence that can help in handling everyday B2B tasks of different departments including sales and recruitments. It can be integrated easily with all leading CRM, recruitments’ and marketing tools. The startup has also raised undisclosed funding amount in 1st round from four investors.vPhrase (vPhrase - Insights from data, in words )Mumbai-based vPhrase Analytics gets an undisclosed seed funding from Venture Catalysts in March 2016. “Phrazor” is vPhrase patented platform that drives insights and afterward communicates those insights. It helps in developing internal reports easily to examine employees’ performance. It also find out important points that need attention for improvements. Enterprises need to spend less time and efforts to make their performance better. It has raised seed funding from angel investors Apoorv Ranjan, and Daud Ali from Venture Catalysts.Staqu Technologies (Perceiving mankind's future with AI )Staqu Technologies is providing intelligent systems like image understanding, biometrics, visual automation systems, data driven analytics for different industries since 2015. It is headquarters in Delhi and working with AI technology experts and researchers together to develop smart next generation state-of-the-art solutions. Its flagship product the ‘VGrep Suite’ features automated attribute generation, similar products recommendations, visual search, fashion trend analysis etc to solve and cater the needs of online businesses and the consumers alike.

From Get Tough & Smart: How to Start Winning the War on Drug Addiction:In 2012, cumulative American drug overdose deaths exceeded our deaths in the Second World War.[1] In 2017, there were 70,237 drug overdose deaths in the U.S.[2] By 2021, our total drug overdose deaths will exceed all U.S. war deaths.[3] Our current incarcerated population in American prisons and jails, many of whom are addicts or drug traffickers, is over three times all U.S. war deaths. American addiction is more deadly than war. Addict deaths represent fully wasted lives. “For every drug overdose that results in death, there are many more nonfatal overdoses, each one with its own emotional and economic toll.”[4] “In 2015, an estimated 547,543 emergency department visits occurred for all drug-related poisonings in the U.S.” and “rates were highest among persons aged 15–19.”[5]“The overall mortality rate for unintentional drug poisonings in the United States grew exponentially from 1979 through 2016. This exponentially increasing mortality rate tracked along a remarkably smooth trajectory for at least 38 years. By contrast, the trajectories of mortality rates from individual drugs have not tracked along exponential trajectories.”[6] We focus much attention on the current Opioid Crisis, but it is a sub-epidemic. In the larger picture we see skyrocketing overdose mortality rates that transcend specific drugs, ages, races, time course and geographic distribution. Skyrocketing overdose mortality represents reckless overconsumption of illegal narcotics. The years from 1979 through 2016 saw the growth of massive incarceration.We are losing or have already lost the old War on Drugs. American life expectancy has declined for three years in a row on account of increases in drug overdoses, chronic liver disease and suicide,[7] all three linked to drugs and alcohol. To avoid reversal of the American Dream, we must change strategy and tactics.Overdose survivors sometimes have permanent brain injury due to oxygen deficiency during overdoses. “Approximately one quarter of those entering brain injury rehabilitation are there as a result of drugs or alcohol, while nearly 50 percent of people receiving treatment for substance misuse have a history of at least one brain injury.”[8] Skyrocketing drug overdoses over time produce even less intelligent and capable addicts. “The opioid epidemic has led to the creation of a new term: Toxic Brain Injury.”[9]We subsidize drug addicts with Medicare, Medicaid, family support, insurance proceeds, medical treatment, drug treatment, overdose rescues, funds from taxpayers and sometimes expensive incarceration. Addiction recovery specialists believe addicts should work productively. In this way, as in so many others, addicts are just like criminal offenders and prisoners. Hard core drug addicts increasingly merged with the huge correctional population, forming one huge and growing body of American offenders and addicted antisocial parasites.I had long ago learned something about addiction and addicts the hard way. My father was an alcoholic, who fortunately through the grace of God sobered up for some 37 years before he died. He told me about the brain disease paradigm of addiction when I was a teenager, but I never completely bought the concept. Other people I was close to also became addicted. I learned much more about drug addiction in the wake of the Opioid Crisis.On November 24, 2016, Pope Francis in an apt analogy identified addiction as a new form of slavery. In 2018, Robert L. DuPont, M.D. wrote Chemical Slavery: Understanding Addiction and Stopping the Drug Epidemic. The main limitation with the slavery analogy is that modern addicts in the U.S. are not as moral, sober, reliable, industrious and fit as the average antebellum slave. We have not just gone backward to slavery, we have degenerated physically, mentally and morally, and are in big trouble as a society. Conventional professional wisdom and government policy today discourage calling addicts any pejorative names, stigmatizing them or invoking morality. We urged drug addicts to enter treatment. Few recognized the need for treatment until something bad happened. The U.S. Supreme Court said decades ago that we could impose mandatory drug treatment, with penalties for noncompliance, but our laws have not strongly or wisely required it. Meanwhile, we try to combat addiction and drug trafficking with incarceration. We wait on drug addicts to change their minds…even though they have a disease or disorder that tells them they do not have a disease or disorder.From 2003 to 2013, the number of American drug addicts doubled.[10] My home State of Alabama became the #1 overprescribing state for opioid pain pills. The Opioid Crisis hit. There are now about two million opioid abusers or dependent users in the U.S.,[11] plus those addicted to alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine, marijuana, benzodiazepines and other narcotics. A policeman told us the story of an addict rescued from overdoses five times in a row, and each time he found the addict passed out on the toilet with the syringe still in his arm. Drug law violators overcrowd our prisons. In Alabama, prisons held 200% of their designed prisoner capacities, so Alabama plans to build three new huge prisons, one with 3,960 beds and two with 3,072 beds each.[12] Drug Court[13] judges prefer non-violent defendants with clean records who have a GED and a job. Modern drug treatments, therapies and rehabilitation usually result in relapses, even when using the most effective medicines, matching the pitifully high recidivism rates for all crimes. Like prisons, residential drug treatments provide good temporary incapacitation, but little long-term rehabilitation. Parents spend retirement savings on ineffective treatments to rescue drug-addicted kids who subsequently relapse. Overdose deaths in the U.S. skyrocketed after imported fentanyl and its analogs made it to the streets from legal and illegal laboratories. Fentanyl is such a powerful opioid that 0.25 milligrams can kill you.[14] Addicts have difficulty taking a safe amount.For years, attacking the supply of drugs almost exclusively did not slow supply-driven worldwide expansion of drug markets[15] or lower the number of drug addicts. Worldwide, production of opium and the manufacturing of cocaine are at the highest levels ever recorded.[16]The main illicit narcotics, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, increased in purity and decreased in price over the course of decades…and then fentanyl got loose. On the street, heroin is now up to 10 times less expensive than opioid pain medication.[17] Traffickers sell illegal narcotics on the Dark Net using Bitcoin and the latest computer technology to avoid detection.Exponentially increasing mortality rates for drug overdoses prove our weaknesses and failures. Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. has by far the most people with drug use disorders, the greatest disease burden from alcohol & drug use disorders, the greatest share of its people with drug use disorders and the highest death rates from drug use disorders.[18] Compared to 17 other wealthy countries, the U.S. has 3.5 times their average drug overdose death rate, and Americans on average now have a life expectancy 2.6 years shorter than those peers.[19] Drug-related debt drives most addicts down financially.[20] Over 20 million Americans have a substance use disorder of some description.Suicide has become a more common cause of death. The U.S. suicide rate went from 10.5 per 100,000 in 1999 to 14.0 per 100,000 in 2017, an increase of 33%.[21] “According to studies, over fifty percent of all suicides are associated with alcohol and drug dependence. Over 70% of adolescent suicides may be complicated by drug and alcohol use and dependence.”[22] “More than 90% of people who fall victim to suicide suffer from depression, have a substance abuse disorder, or both.”[23]“Suicide was the leading cause of death in local jails and accounted for more than a third (35 percent) of all jail inmate deaths. From 2013 to 2014, the number of suicides [in local jails] increased 13 percent.”[24] “From 2013 to 2014, the number of suicides in state prisons increased by 30 percent.”[25]Opioid use significantly depresses labor-force participation, harming the American economy.[26] “Labor force participation has fallen more in U.S. counties where relatively more opioid pain medication is prescribed.”[27] Almost half of prime age American men not in the labor force take daily pain medication.[28] Putting addicts and offenders to work is a major objective of this book.Here is a most urgent problem, at the decisive front in the war on drug addiction: In 2017, every day, about 220 Americans used heroin for the first time; every day 2,800 Americans used cocaine for the first time; and every day 530 initiated methamphetamine use.[29] In 2018, every day 320 initiated heroin use, 2,400 per day used cocaine for the first time, and 560 per day initiated methamphetamine use.[30] “Just say No!”, ALERT, D.A.R.E., a billion-dollar youth prevention campaign and health education classes in schools did not prevent these scary numbers or skyrocketing overdose mortality. We need a cultural shift in how we think about recreational drugs, to overcome the music lyrics and video affecting young people.[31] The attraction of psychoactive substances to young people is “the underlying risk factor in the epidemic.”[32] Most importantly, we must “de-normalize recreational pharmacology,”[33] making it far less glamorous.[1] The Running Total of Drug Overdose Deaths – Compared with Major U.S. War Casualties, chart by Drug Abuse Treatment – Alcohol and Substance Abuse Programs.[2] Drug Overdose Deaths, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”).[3] Id.[4] CDC, Nonfatal Drug Overdoses (8-2-2018).[5] CDC, 2018 Annual Surveillance Report of Drug-Related Risks and Outcomes 18 (8-31-2018).[6] H Jalal, J Buchanich, M Roberts, L Balmert, K Zhang, D Burke, Changing dynamics of the drug overdose epidemic in the United States from 1979 through 2016, Science 21 Sep 2018, DOI: 10.1126/science.aau1184.[7] M Solly, U.S. Life Expectancy Drops for Third Year in a Row, Reflecting Rising Drug Overdoses, Suicides, http://Smithsonian.com (Dec. 3, 2018). “From 2000 to 2015, death rates for chronic liver disease and cirrhosis in the United States increased 31%.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC (1-29-2017).[8] W Dane, D Fahel, T Epley, “The Solution to Opioids is Treatment,” Brain Injury Association of America (2019).[9] Id.[10] Grant BF, Saha TD, Ruan WJ, et al. Epidemiology of DSM-5 Drug Use Disorder: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions–III. JAMA Psychiatry. 2016;73(1):39–47. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.2132.[11] Peterson C, Xu L, Mikosz CA, Florence C, Mack KA. US hospital discharges documenting patient opioid use disorder without opioid overdose or treatment services, 2011-2015. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2018;92:35-39.[12] Mike Cason, Alabama plans to break ground on 1st new prison in mid-2020, AL.com (6-28-2019).[13] Drug Courts are special dockets within trial-level criminal courts that seek to rehabilitate addicts instead of punish them with incarceration. They are establishing Drug Courts in more and more venues over time.[14] Nadia Kounang, What you need to know about fentanyl. CNN (11-5-18).[15] U.N. World Drug Report 2018, Vol. 3, Analysis of Drug Markets, Preface 1.[16] U.N. World Drug Report 2018, Vol. 2, Global Overview of Drug Demand and Supply – Preface 1; Vol. 3, Analysis of Drug Markets, Preface 1.[17] Schiller EY, Mechanic OJ. Opioid Overdose. [Updated 2019 Mar 2]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2019 Jan-. Available from: Opioid Overdose - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf[18] H Ritchie & M Roser, Substance Use, Our World in Data (April 2018).[19] Jessica Y. Ho. The Contemporary American Drug Overdose Epidemic in International Perspective. Population and Development Review, 2019; DOI: 10.1111/padr.12228.[20] Erica Sandberg, The high cost of descending into drug-related debt, Compare Credit Cards & Apply Online at CreditCards.com (July 5, 2012).[21] CDC, Suicide Mortality in the United States, 1999-2017 (NCHS Data Brief No. 330, November 2018).[22] Miller NS, Mahler JC, Gold MS. Suicide risk associated with drug and alcohol dependence. J Addict Dis. 1991;10(3):49-61.[23] Suicide and Substance Abuse and Addiction, AddictionCenter @ Addiction and Suicide - Addiction Center.[24] Bureau of Justice Statistics @ Bureau of Justice Statistics.[25] Bureau of Justice Statistics @ Bureau of Justice Statistics.[26] Krueger, Alan B. “Where Have All the Workers Gone? An Inquiry into the Decline of the U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate.” Brookings papers on economic activity vol. 2017,2 (2017): 1-87. doi:10.1353/eca.2017.0012[27]Krueger, Alan B. “Where Have All the Workers Gone? An Inquiry into the Decline of the U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate.” Brookings papers on economic activity vol. 2017,2 (2017): 1-87. doi:10.1353/eca.2017.0012[28]Krueger, Alan B. “Where Have All the Workers Gone? An Inquiry into the Decline of the U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate.” Brookings papers on economic activity vol. 2017,2 (2017): 1-87. doi:10.1353/eca.2017.0012[29] Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health 25, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.[30] Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health 26-27, SAMSHA.[31] “It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools.”Ecclesiastes 7:5 (NIV).[32] Robert DuPont, Chemical Slavery: Understanding Addiction and Stopping the Drug Epidemic 3 (2018).[33] Robert DuPont, Chemical Slavery: Understanding Addiction and Stopping the Drug Epidemic 3 (2018).***************As a result of Covid-19, the 12-month overdose death toll in the USA rose to 81,000. The opioid addiction issue in the USA is huge, and the problem is getting worse.

Los Angeles MagazineLove, Sex & DatingTravelLong-FormFoodCultureCityThinkIssue ArchiveThe MagazineHome GiveLA Here’s What’s Being Done to End L.A.’s Homelessness CrisisAn encampment on 8th Street downtownHugh KretschmerGiveLAHealthPhilanthropyPoliticsUrban DevelopmentHere’s What’s Being Done to End L.A.’s Homelessness CrisisWhere your money is going, what steps are being taken, and what’s coming nextByZoie Matthew-June 14, 2018ShareYou don’t need us to tell you that the city and county are in the midst of a homelessness crisis—the worst in the region’s history and the worst in the nation. Just look out the window on your daily commute.While a host of recent funding measures have helped to decrease L.A. County’s total homeless population by 3 percent since 2017, the number of people experiencing homelessness for the first time is still on the rise, and L.A. has a lot more to do to address the issue’s root causes.The info that follows can’t possibly tackle the entirety of a topic as complex and fraught as this—you’d need a textbook for that—but it does offer clarity about where your money is going, what steps are being taken, and what other efforts we can expect in the coming months.MoneyHugh KretschmerNonprofit organizations have long played a central role in helping the region’s homeless. The Home for Good funding collaborative alone has raised almost $40 million since 2012. “It’s nonprofits that are trying to fund the housing, negotiating with the landlord, and staying with the individuals to provide them the services they need,” says Ruth Schwartz of the Shelter Partnership. But the crisis has far exceeded the limits of what nonprofits can achieve. So the city and county have finally kicked in with three funding measures. Given their overlap, it’s worth stepping back for a refresher on which does what.$38,146: The average annual cost of public services for someone living on the street$15,358: What the cost is reduced when a person has been housedMeasure HHHWhat it is: A $1.2 billion city bond measure passed in 2016.What it’s funding: The construction of between 8,000 and 10,000 housing units over the next decade. Most projects will include access to supportive services like clinics, counseling, drug and alcohol treatment, and job training.Who’s paying for it: City residents are taxed $9.64 annually for each $100,000 of the assessed value of the property they own. For the medianhomevalue, that’s about $33 per year.Progress report: It started slowly, but a Supportive Housing Ordinance passed in April cut down on red tape. “It’s going to make projects go through the permitting process quicker and be less costly to develop,” says Schwartz. So far, there are 26 housing projects in predevelopment and three under construction, totaling 1,965 units. Council members have also pledged to approve building 222 supportive units in each of the 15 districts by July 1, 2020.Developer Linkage FeeWhat it is: A fee for most new construction in the city. Approved in 2017 by the city council, the ordinance is being phased in over the next year.What it’s funding: The revenue is being funneled into the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund and could help build or maintain up to 1,767 affordable housing units per year, depending on how officials decide tospendit. A plan should be approved this year.Who’s paying for it: Developers pay up to $15 per square foot of construction, based on the nature of the project and where it’s located (developments that include affordable units are exempt). Officials estimate this will create a revenue stream of about $100 million per year.Progress report: The ordinance will be fully implemented by 2019. While the plan’s opponents worry that it will discourage construction, affordable housing proponents say it’s been a long time coming: Garcetti first proposed the fee in 2015.Measure HWhat it is: A ten-year, quarter-cent sales tax increase approved by county voters last year that’s expected to raise $355 million annually. What it’s funding: In large part, stopgap measures like temporary and crisis housing, rental subsidies for people on the brink of homelessness, and supportive services likehealthcare, job training, and outreach teams.Who’s paying for it: Anyone who pays sales tax in the county.Progress report: Since July 2017 Measure H revenue has, according to the county, helped more than 10,000 people find temporary or permanent housing and funded more than 1,000 new jobs in the homeless-services sector. It has also helped launch programs to aid families cover rent, utilities, and other expenses. And it’s been used to improve coordination among departments. “Things are much more streamlined today,” says Schwartz.HousingThere’s slightly more than one shelter bed for every three homeless people in the L.A. area. Not all beds are available year-round either, and many people would rather avoid shelters, which can be crowded, dangerous, and restrictive: They don’t accommodate pets or partners and severely limit possessions. As the city chips away at its plan to build at least 10,000 affordable housing units by 2021, it’s looking for ways to shelter people in the meantime. These are four alternatives that could be part of the solution.Motel ConversionsL.A.had more than 380 motels, with a combined 10,259 rooms, and an ordinance passed in April aims to use some of them for homeless tenants. Participating motel owners must agree to work with agencies to provide supportive services. In return? They’ll be exempt from certain zoning laws that might otherwise require costly upgrades for compliance, and they’ll be allowed to equip guest rooms with full-size refrigerators and some cooking equipment. The property owners are also able to work with nonprofits in order to tap into county rent subsidy funds.TrailersMore than 100 public parking lots across the city have been flagged as potential sites for permanent housing. But in the near term, City Councilman Jose Huizar plans to install five trailers near Olvera Street this summer as a temporary solution. At a cost of $2 million for the first year and $1.3 million to run annually thereafter, they’ll provide beds, showers, laundry facilities, and supportive services for 60 to 70 people, with new tenants coming in every six months. It’s astart. “We’re hoping to find other publicly owned properties that we could convert into immediate shelter,” says Huizar.ADU’sOtherwise known as granny flats, accessory dwelling units—the wee homes that share lots with single-family houses—are being embraced by the state as a way to increase afffordable housing and decrease homelessness. California has eased its building and zoning restrictions, and last year Los Angeles County launched a pilot program that gave a handful of qualifying homeowners up to $75,000 to build an ADU in their yard or $50,000 to revamp an existing structure. In return, they must agree to rent to previously homeless tenants for at least ten years. The city’s Innovation Team is also experimenting with funding models to help homeowners build more ADUs, which could at least help increase the supply of affordable housing.Homes for HopeDesigned by USC architecture students and the Martin Architecture and Design Workshop in 2016, Homes for Hope’s modish, 6½-by-11-foot pods are intended to be stackable, easily reconfigured, and code compliant. The cost? Around $25,000 each, though that could go down with mass production. The inspiration came from makeshift shelters seen on the streets. “These communities are master builders. They’re super inventive and experimental, and use what they have,” says Sofia Borges, who co-taught the course. A fund-raising effort for a pilot project in Sylmar with Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission is under way.Skid RowMen line up at the Midnight Mission in 1964Herald-Examiner Collection/LAPL Photo CollectionHow It Came to BeWhile encampments have sprung up all over the county since the Great Recession, skid row has always been L.A.’s epicenter of homelessness. Stretching for roughly 50 blocks, the tent-and-tarp-filled area is the largest of its kind in the nation, with 2,000 or so people sleeping in its streets each night. That it’s endured despite development pushing in on its borders in recent years is no accident.In 1972 a “Silver Book” plan drafted by downtown business interests sought to relocate skid row’s residents so the land could be redeveloped. But what prevailed was the “Blue Book” alternative, aka the “Containment Plan.” It drew boundaries around the neighborhood to preserve what cheap housing remained and to locate homeless services there.“People interested in saving low-income housing were in favor, as were people who didn’t want any of those people in their neighborhood,” says John Malpede, founder of the Skid Row History Museum & Archive. While some say the containment plan created a dumping ground for vulnerable residents, Malpede notes, “It’s become a neighborhood. It has a lot of self-awareness and has been able to advocate for its preservation.” Here are a few lesser-known facets of skid row history.Early DaysOriginally an agricultural area, skid row industrialized with the arrival of the trains in the 1870s. Bars, brothels, and hotels sprang up to cater to rail-riding transients and part-time workers. It became a hub for migrants from the South and Midwest during the Depression. Alcoholism was rampant. In the 1950s the city cut the supply of cheap housing in half when it demolished many of the area’s by-then-battered hotels, driving their occupants onto the streets.The PeopleThe demographic makeup of skid row—mostly white, male, and elderly—shifted as Native Americans poured into L.A. following 1956’s Indian Relocation Act. Nicknamed “Indian Alley,” skid row’s Winston Street became the site of the United American Indian Involvement center in 1974. The area’s black population grew when Vietnam veterans returned in the 1960s and ’70s, and surged again during the ’80s crack epidemic and war on drugs. Today skid row is mostly black.PoliticsSkid row has official boundaries: 3rd, 7th, Alameda, and Main streets. And residents want it to have an official neighborhood council as well in order to enable them to advise city officials about land-use issues amid DTLA’s development boom. A recent effort ended in a controversial election and lost by 60 votes. Activists blame a last-minute decision to allow online voting, which is typically banned for neighborhood elections, that effectively excluded many skid row denizens.Beyond the RowThe encampments you see lining sidewalks on 8th Street are permitted by the LAPD because of a legal battle that sprang from skid row. The 2006 decision in Jones v. City of Los Angeles overturned a “quality of life” ordinance that banned people from sleeping, lying, or sitting on city sidewalks at any time. Filed on behalf of six homeless people, it determined that arresting violators when they had nowhere else to go amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.” Since then, people have been allowed to stay put between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.Leading the ChargeBorn on skid row, activist Steve Richardson, aka General Dogon, has been pressing for change in the area.“My parents met on skid row in the ’50s. I grew up there in the ’70s, and in the early ’80s I got addicted to crack cocaine. I ended up in state prison, where I read a lot of black history books and got involved with political activism. After 11 years I came back to skid row, and downtown was in the midst of being gentrified. They had these ‘business improvement’ security guards who’d harass people.In 2006 L.A. launched the Safer Cities Initiative, which brought 50 extra police to skid row. They’d pull up on homeless people, claiming they were loitering. ‘Loitering’ is hanging out with a criminal intent. Just because you’re on a public sidewalk and black doesn’t mean you’re loitering. I got involved with L.A. Community Action Network, and we created a watch team. We’d document interactions with security guards and the LAPD and teach people their rights. We created a community report card called The Dirty Divide to document public health-and-safety infrastructure, like trash cans and bathrooms.Post-Measure HHH, we worked with the mayor’s homeless-policy director for about eight months, and they finally found money to get us six temporary toilets. Close to the anniversary of HHH, the mayor’s office wanted to have this press conference and to give me a certificate. I was like, Who wants a certificate for bringing six temporary toilets when we need 100 times that? I took his certificate, tore it up, and threw it back at him.”The BasicsMore than 500 city and county employees fan out in teams to help the homeless get food, health care, clothing, and the like. Funding from Measure H will only grow that number. “We are going into riverbeds, encampments, and under bridges,” says Colleen Murphy, outreach coordinator for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Metro even has its own outreach program on the Red Line, which has become a de facto shelter. Here’s how they work.ShelterIt’ll take years to house everyone, but Murphy is optimistic. “Outreach was kind of the first to come out of the box with Measure H,” she says, and those teams can help direct people to the appropriate housing options, assuming they’re available. “As we have more shelters opening up and more housing resources, that’s going to hopefully make our job a little easier.”ClothingA fresh set of clothes can be a big help when you’re trying to get a job or secure housing. Vouchers for thrift stores and free clothing closets are two of the most common ways that outreach teams help people get garb, says Murphy. To keep those clothes clean, a handful of nonprofits, such as LAMP and the Downtown Women’s Center, offer laundry facilities.HygieneToilets and showers for the homeless are scarce, and existing ones have been closed down repeatedly, owing to concerns about drug use and prostitution. So people use the sidewalks as toilets. Following last year’s hepatitis A outbreak, L.A. opened a small skid row facility with toilets, showers, and attendants, but more are needed. The nonprofits Lava Mae and the Shower of Hope are working with the county to develop a mobile shower program.Mental HealthLAHSA estimates that 33 percent of homeless people in the city are mentally ill. Teams with mental health professionals give field assessments. Some clients get “light therapy,” says Murphy; others might be directed to county psychiatric facilities. But space is finite, and because of strict limitations on treating people against their will, even patients who are a danger to themselves can refuse.IdentificationUnlocking benefits like Social Security disability income and housing requires birth certificates, ID cards, et cetera. So outreach teams prioritize helping clients obtain copies. “We have vouchers so the ID is either free or at a discounted cost,” says Murphy. “If getting to the DMV is challenging, we can transport the client, go with them, and help.” Covering the cost of public transportation is also an option.FoodBuying food to supplement the hot-meal programs run by churches, shelters, and homeless organizations costs money. Another early step outreach teams take is to help clients sign up to receive financial aid, whether from Social Security, disability income, or the county-funded General Relief program, which can provide up to $221 a month.Health CareStreet teams help people enroll in health coverage or connect them with physicians; some even include a nurse who can conduct exams. “Having nurses on the ground and being able to assess if that’s a serious wound or some other issue is huge,” says Murphy. But there’s a long way to go: Of the 831 homeless deaths in Los Angeles County last year, a significant number were linked to preventable health problems.The LawHugh KretschmerIt’s a vicious circle: The rules and laws that essentially aim to curb homelessness often just complicate maters. Limits on what people can bring to homeless shelters can dissuade them from sleeping there. Fines doled out to people who can’t pay them lead to arrests and criminal records, which makes finding a job more difficult. Encampments are rousted, spurring the people in them to move somewhere else. A quick tour of some modest remedies.$87 million is spent by the city on homeless arrests, skid row patrols, and mental health interventions each year.19 percent of people arrested by the LAPD in 2017 were homeless.14,506 of those arrests were made for misdemeanors, many involving citations for storing property or sleeping on the sidewalk.Ticket ClinicIn a courtyard at downtown’s Central Library, the Homeless Court ticket clinic is in session. Catherine Clay stands twiglegged in heavy boots, reading numbers of a clipboard to a patient crowd. “One twenty-six! One twenty seven!” cries the tiny 43-year-old. Clutching papers, the chosen few head to the canopied rows of city attorneys to get their citations cleared, much like Clay did five years ago. “Now I’m here as a giveback because I’m grateful it worked for me,” she says.Homeless off and on for 15 years before being placed in affordable housing, she’d accumulated around $15,000 in fines for driving violations and other small offenses. Tickets come with the territory when you’re living on the streets of L.A., where just lying on the sidewalk can result in a $35 “quality of life” citation; left unpaid, it can snowball into hundreds of dollars or a bench warrant.Held every couple of months, the clinics don’t tackle the debates raging around the ethics of such enforcement, but the program does enable people to work of those fees with community service and counseling. “I was just extremely happy I didn’t have to decide between paying these tickets and moving into my apartment,” says Clay.Safe ParkingFor the 25 percent of homeless Angelenos who live in their vehicles, trying to find a safe, legal place to park at night can be frustrating. While camping on the sidewalk is permitted between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in L.A., sleeping in your car at night can lead to costly fines in most areas.“If you live in your vehicle, your vehicle is vulnerable all the time. It’s really hard to stay citation-free,” says Emily Uyeda Kantrim, who runs Safe Parking L.A. Founded in 2016, the nonprofit assists churches and businesses in hosting the vehicular homeless in their parking lots at night while providing portable bathrooms and security and helping connect people with other supportive services.The catch, once again, is neighborhood opposition. Only four of these lots have been established so far: three by Safe Parking L.A. and another by the city, which plans to launch a safe parking program of its own this summer.The BinEach morning, homeless people flock to the Bin, a free skid row storage facility run by the nonprofit Chrysalis. Sorting through the 60-gallon city-donated trash bins where they keep their items, visitors grab clothes, take medicine, and tuck away tents. Safely stowing their stuff gives folks a sense of dignity, says Chrysalis vice president Trevor Kale: “You can go and make your appointments without carrying a humongous bag. It’s freedom.” It also ensures their belongings won’t get them in trouble with the police, since anyone who stores too much in a public area can be cited, arrested, or have their possessions confiscated. How much is too much? Under a city ordinance, everything must fit in a 60-gallon container. The challenge is how to replicate the Bin’s success: The facility is one of only three in L.A., because efforts to open new locations have faced stiff neighborhood resistance.How You Can HelpDonateHomeless organizations don’t just need money. Many, like the Downtown Women’s Center, have wish lists of day-to-day items. downtownwomenscenter.org/our-wishlistWashDo a load for someone who can’t afford to by volunteering for Laundry Love. laundrylove.orgFeedProviding food to the homeless can be a family affair. L.A. Kitchen hosts kid-friendly meal-prep days every other month. lakitchen.org/family-daysTeachVolunteer tutors from School on Wheels help homeless students maintain academic stability. schoolonwheels.orgRELATED: Here’s How You Turn Shipping Containers Into Housing for the homeless would like to see 400 million AMERICANS each with a company “TOO BIG TO FAIL”!But when you are big you should be careful not to step on other people's toes! And when you do it should cost you! The way things are now the big governments and big business help each other step on people's toes THAT IS A FORM OF SOCIALISM CALLED FASCISM! And when BIG BUSINESS AND BIG GOVERNMENT OVER STEPS THEY NEED TO BE PUNISHED AND THE FINES NEED TO GO TO THE POOR AND MIDDLE CLASS! If all 7 Billion people on this planet get together and demand that the poor are taken care of all the current workers will be managers and all the manager will be directors! Almost everyone can work, but FIRST A HOME! THEN A PHONE!THEN A JOB! What BERNIE DOESN’T TELL YOU IS ALL THE PROBLEMS ARE BECAUSE OF SOCIALISM! AND WHAT DENNIS PRAGER DOESN’T TELL PEOPLE IS HE WANTS BIG BUSINESS AND BIG BUSINESS TO GET ALONG TOGETHER AND THAT IS A FORM OF SOCIALISM CALLED FASCISM! I am hoping that the plunder TAX will gain traction! Ronald Regan said if you want LESS of something TAX IT! I want less greedy RICH .01% ERS!I am an ultra-conservative! One in 6 children in AMERICA GO TO BED HUNGRY! WE HAVE SPENT 20 TRILLION ON HOMELESS BUT THE BUREAUCRATS GOT IT! THAT IS 40 MILLION PER HOMELESS PERSON! IT IS A RACKETT!But now we must impose a plunder tax on the .01% that s getting so rich that they will destroy not only the poor! But the middle classes! If they get the 10% tax they will virtually be paid to be the richest people on the planet! A C.E.O.makes 680 TIMES WHAT THE AVERAGE WORKER MAKES!They can be on many boards ! so they can make thousands of times what average workers make !Why not just hire 680 people to do the C.E.O. job? Wouldn’t 680 heads be better than one overpaid head?The TAX INCOME: is paid 70% by the workers, and the other 30% is paid by the small businesses! While the rich corporation and “NON ” profits pay nothing as they get corporate welfare! The rich have never paid even for murder! No execution of a rich person in our history! The TAX should never be imposed on the poor or MIDDLE CLASSES! It should not even be imposed on small business! The plunders TAX SHOULD START AT 2 million dollars at 40% then graduate up to the richest at 90% .the Rothschild is said to have 1500 TRILLION DOLLARS in secret vaults in the form of gold! THIS IS INCOME TAX EVASION on a grand scale!7 billion people on planet earth need to get together and demand that governments(ALL OF THEM)stop letting the rich PLUNDER!And the entire world needs to cave in on the ultra wealthy!OTHERWISE, THE RICH WILL HAVE A TWO CLASS SOCIETY THE SUPER RICH (WHO ANSWER TO NO ONE!)AND THE SUPER POOR! PUTIN AND THE OTHER DICTATORS ARE ALL CAPITALIST THEY ARE JUST FASCIST CAPITALIST… the stock market needs to be properly taxed! As well as derivatives (A huge 14.4 QUADRILLION DOLLAR MARKET) So if we impose a poor tax on derivatives of 1% then We can have $14 TRILLION DOLLARS to house, employ train the homeless, orphans, unemployed widows underemployed and those who can’t work!This is not a revolution it is polite society imposing its values on plunder, A VERY CAPITALIST CONCEPT …plunder must be punished!13 million millionaires in the world.043 billionaires GATES, SLIM, ELON MUSK,the trillionaires Warburgs Rockefeller's, DuPont's, Rothschild's Have about 600 trillion, $600,000,000,000,000.ooROTHSCHILD'S, ROCKEFELLER'S,Warburgs ,TRILLIONARES.001% $600,000,000,000,000.ooBILLIONAIRES ( 2043 ) .01 % $13,000,000,000,000,000,000.ooMILLIONAIRES (13 MILLION) .1% $13,000,600,500,000,000,000.ooALL TAXATION SHOULD START AT TWO MILLION AND GRADUATE UP! to 90%Anyone under two million should not be taxed!To tax the poor is counterproductive especially when that money goes to the rich.The derivatives market is 1.4 QUADRILLION! If we TAX IT AT 1% that is 1.4 TRILLION TO HELP THE HOMELESS AND THE POOR!