George Mendez, foreground, a 55-year-old recovering alcoholic, sits in front of a drunk woman in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 23, 2013. The area, originally agricultural until the 1870s when railroads first entered Los Angeles, has maintained a transient nature through the years from the influxes of short-term workers, migrants fleeing economic hardship during the Great Depression, military personnel during World War II and the Vietnam conflict, and low-skilled workers with limited transportation options who need to remain close to the city's core, according to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
George Mendez, foreground, a 55-year-old recovering alcoholic, sits in front of a drunk woman in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 23, 2013. The area, originally agricultural until the 1870s when railroads first entered Los Angeles, has maintained a transient nature through the years from the influxes of short-term workers, migrants fleeing economic hardship during the Great Depression, military personnel during World War II and the Vietnam conflict, and low-skilled workers with limited transportation options who need to remain close to the city's core, according to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Sonya Martinez, 38, who says she has been homeless for 10 years off-and-on, sits in San Julian Park while waiting for her husband in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. In the last week of January 2013, The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority counted 1,020 homeless people on the street and 2,443 in an emergency shelter or in transitional housing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A recovering drug addict walks past a sign during a narcotics anonymous meeting in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Homeless people attend a daily Bible study class at the Emmanuel Baptist Rescue Mission in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Thursday, July 18, 2013. The church doubles as a shelter for homeless men and the Bible study attendance is required in order to get a bed assignment. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A woman casts a shadow on the shutters of a closed store with a "God Loves You" message written on it in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles has been home for thousands of homeless people, a tenuous comfort zone for many who hit the rock bottom of their lives in America.
The area, originally agricultural until the 1870s when railroads first entered Los Angeles, has maintained a transient nature through the years from the influxes of short-term workers, migrants fleeing economic hardship during the Great Depression, military personnel during World War II and the Vietnam War and low-skilled workers with limited transportation options who need to remain close to the city's core, according to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
It's also a battleground where the poor fight merciless drug addiction and alcoholism.
On Skid Row they're offered a place to sleep, food, counseling and even spiritual support. Some win the battle and turn their miseries into testimonies. Others don't. It's not a rare scene on Skid Row to spot addicts doing drugs in the open even when police patrol the area.
Temptation lurks on every corner of the grid — but so do helping hands.
The fight continues today. The warm afternoon sunlight shines on those who sleep on the sidewalk.
Here's a gallery of images from Skid Row by photographer Jae C. Hong.
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Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-10-19-Skid%20Row-Photo%20Essay/id-451a0327bb6c460c937c9c1f6a66aabcCategory: elizabeth smart notre dame football Boulder Flooding FXX justin timberlake
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