SKID ROW CULTURE: an embedded journalist’s exploration of art and community in the nation’s homeless capital
A THESIS BY DANIELLE CHARBONNEAU
While earning my Master’s in Specialized Journalism in the Arts from the Annenberg School for Journalism and Communication at the University of Southern California, I spent nine months as an embedded reporter in Skid Row, shadowing a non-profit theater company called Los Angeles Poverty Department. According to the 2015 Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority report, there are 44, 359 homeless individuals countywide. Skid Row is recognized as the homeless capital of the nation.
While Skid Row is an area with much despair, I also found a neighborhood rich with culture, activism, recovery and art. A great number of individuals in the Skid Row neighborhood are active community members who are proud to be members of what they call the “Biggest Recovery Community Anywhere.” From my experiences, I wrote my graduate thesis, “Skid Row Culture: an embedded journalist’s exploration of art and community in the nation’s homeless capital.
