State of LA Housing Market
/Whether we personally are trying to save up for a house, we know friends who have moved from Los Angeles because of the cost of living, or we know those who are trying to survive month to month, we all feel the pressure of the housing crisis in Los Angeles. It seems like everyone is affected.In the most recent Bisnow conference in DTLA, the state of the office and housing market was the topic of conversation. As many of the LA business people gathered, the issue in Los Angeles of rising construction costs (a 113% increase in the last 3 years), the limited space for affordable housing, the ongoing parking dilemma (more cars in LA than any other U.S city), and the issue of wages not keeping up with market values (tenants need to earn $47.52/hr to afford medium asking prices) sparked conversation around a housing problem that doesn’t seem to have a quick solution.Bob Champion, Founder and CEO of Champion Real Estate Company, explained, “California falls short on average of 150,000-200,000 units per year. This means that Los Angeles has to create 2.2 million units just to catch up with the demand.”In addition to the general short fall, the city is still waiting for the 10,000 affordable units it intended through proposition HHH. According to a recent report from the California housing partnership, Los Angeles needs 516,946 affordable units to just meet the demand of low-income housing.If that wasn’t bad enough, a current prediction shows a slow in employment growth in LA over the next couple of years.However, despite the outlook, most don’t foresee a slow down of developing in Los Angeles anytime soon. For the areas where businesses are creating a demand for housing, space may become the only issue.The conclusion: Los Angeles will continue to sprawl into neighboring regions as businesses, schools, and production companies look elsewhere for space. And because of this, the people will follow.So although Los Angeles will continue to be a highly transient city, there is potential to impact the community we find ourselves. As Victor MacFarlane, CEO of MacFarlane Partners and current developer in DTLA eloquently put it, “building projects have the potential to create a center of gravity to change a neighborhood.” Given the fact that the housing problem in Los Angeles isn’t changing soon, the question remains how we together can create these places of center of gravity to love our neighborhoods and respond to those being affected by the crisis.
![TLA - NotMyJesus Bob Fabey](<img src="http://togetherla.net/wp-content/uploads/TLA-NotMyJesus-Bob-Fabey.jpg" alt="TLA - NotMyJesus Bob Fabey" width="667" height="1002" class="alignright size-full wp-image-4489" />)
Rev. Robert Chao Romero is "Asian-Latino," and has been a professor of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at UCLA since 2005. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in Latin American History and his Juris Doctor from U.C. Berkeley, and is also an attorney. Romero has published 15 academic books and articles on issues of race, immigration, history, education, and religion, and received the Latina/o Studies book award from the international Latin American Studies Association. Together with his wife Erica, he is the co-founder of Jesus 4 Revolutionaries, a Christian ministry to activists, as well as the co-chair of the Matthew 25 Movement in Southern California.
Serving at this fundraiser was never intended as a corporate stance on every nuance of immigration in America or on any particular political leaders. We simply said, “We must do our part to love children who are in a tough spot right now.”I can’t claim to be the expert on candidates or policy, but I can be bold and winsome in asking people from every walk of life to adopt the values and character of Jesus. We can’t allow the noise around politics to keep us from making disciples who love with action. We have to be willing to do whatever it takes to show others how to live and act with the mind of Christ.
Tens of thousands of people crowded the steps of City Hall as they chanted, sang songs, and held signs in display of solidarity against the separation of migrant children from their undocumented parents. The incidents of such action at the nation's southern border came into focus recently under the President's call for zero tolerance. Donald Trump has since given an executive order to stop the practice.While I can’t be sure that the majority of people in the crowd weren’t Christians, judging by the signs I read, the T-shirts I saw, and the language I heard, we were definitely outnumbered … I think.We are indeed living in strange times when the loudest voices fighting to keep families together are non-Christians. This is not an indictment of non-believers (because I know they love their children), but rather a question as to why this issue seems to be so confusing for Christians.While most believers agree that the current situation is bad for families, they cannot seem to reconcile with the fact that the law has been broken — the consequences of such (while not condoned) have resulted in unfortunate circumstances.As Attorney General Jeff Sessions put it, “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes.”Sessions represents a position that many Christians hold to. But perhaps his tell was when he said, “Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves. Consistent, fair application of law is in itself a good and moral thing and protects the weak — it protects the lawful.”
The questions remain: Are these immigration law tactics orderly and lawful processes? Do they really protect the weak? Do they accurately represent a faithful interpretation of scripture?I spoke to Emilio Nunez, who is the Director of Spanish Ministries for the Pacific Church Network in Southern California and pastor at Bell Gardens Baptist, about this issue.“If we’re thinking about Christians (followers of Jesus), I would think that we have to have our priorities properly ordered. What is the most important thing for a Christian?” Nunez said. “For Christians, the principles of the kingdom should be the most important. While one of those values is to respect and honor government (Rom. 13), the first order of value is to say, ‘I have to do what God wants me to do with the people that I’m ministering to.’ And the second order of value is loyalty and love for country — and there’s nothing wrong with that — as long as it doesn’t become an idol that is more powerful in my life than Jesus himself.”The disagreement is clear. Sessions believes that above all, the law should be obeyed as an end in and of itself. And to that, his position is well intentioned, but ultimately flawed.I wonder what Sessions would say to Rahab, a woman who lied to the king of Jericho so that she could protect the lives of foreign spies (Josh. 2:1-7)? Or to the Apostle Paul, who wrote to Philemon to receive Onesimus (a runaway slave) back as a brother and an equal — even though Onesimus had clearly broken the law (Philem. 1:8-17).The law is a good thing when it protects the people that it is designed to serve. However, when the law fails to be a respector of human persons made in God’s image, then our commitment as Christians is to be faithful to a higher law.
Ironically, I stood and marched with thousands of non-Christians on Saturday who believe exactly that. Namely, that the current laws pertaining to immigration show no respect for basic human rights. And to that, I stand in solidarity with the thousands that marched to protest such atrocities.Still, I couldn’t help but think that the chants of, “Tell me what democracy looks like,” were a bit naïve as history quickly reminds us that even the best democratic system can never deliver what it promises.And as beautiful as the crowds were on Saturday, the picture of hope was incomplete because it was ultimately misplaced.For any form of government that grounds its hope in democracy will disappoint. Because the truth is, we don’t need a democracy for a better future; we need a monarchy.But you can’t have a monarchy without a king, and that king is Jesus. So in the meantime, we fight for truth and justice.But that’s easier said than done because it appears as if no one can agree on the truth.If only there was a group of people that had the truth.If only there was a group of people willing to stand up for the truth.If only.Maybe someday.PHOTOS by JUSTIN LEVECKJon Garcia is a writer, storyteller, and aspiring theologian. He lives in the Los Angeles area where he spends most of his time working on PhD studies and serving the Latino/a community. For fun, he hosts 
Editor's Note: We want to hear from you on this topic. What is God telling us about our nation's immigration policy? Should there be a louder voice from the Christian community about the separation of children from parents who are being processed for immigration at the border? Please leave comments below.
One of the rabbis in attendance spoke about Jeff Sessions’ quotation of Romans 13, noting that Sessions used this passage as a way to keep the people obedient to the law of the land. Speaking out of the prophetic tradition of the Jewish religion, this rabbi asserted that instead, the Torah is about dissent, about challenging authority. Moses did not abide by the law of his land, but instead followed the will of the Lord, went to the ruling authority of his day, and said, “What you are doing is unjust! Let my people go.”Therefore, as religious leaders of our day, we are similarly called to approach our political leaders with the message, “What you are doing at the border is unjust! Return these children to their parents and let God’s people go.” This demonstration — and the immigration reform movement at large — was not fueled by rebellion against current immigration policies for rebellion’s sake. It was a Holy Spirit filled beckoning for lawmakers to reform policies that are morally inconsistent with the Law of God.The treatment of undocumented immigrants at the southern border is inhumane and demonic. By separating children from their mothers and fathers and detaining them for many days we are forgetting what one rabbi said is the greatest lesson in the Torah, that every human is made in the Image of God. No matter one’s ethnicity, gender, class, or documentation, they bear the Image of God and should be treated with dignity and respect. What is happening at our southern border is neither dignifying nor respectful, it is disgraceful and should be stopped immediately.Some good news is that President Trump recently signed an executive order to ban the practice of separating children from their families. This is evidence that the Holy Spirit is moving and that public pressure on politicians works to enact substantial social change!Indeed, it is because of this victory that religious leaders urge us to keep fighting for the change we desire to see in our society. As one pastor noted, we must not stop until we are sure these children are returned to their parents. We must ensure that the policies fought for are carried out. And we should not stop there! Christians should organize and fight until the laws of our land reflect the realities of the Kingdom of God, where every human being is recognized and dignified as bearers of God’s image.If you want to join in on these efforts to bring immigrant families back together or just want to learn more, getting involved with organizations like 
Union Rescue Mission CEO, Rev. Andrew Bales told Together LA earlier in the week, before the 5k, that the course had to circle LA Live three times rather than having to force businesses on another planned route to shut down for a few hours.Sponsors at the event’s start and finish line manning booths in between the Staples Center and Microsoft Theater included financial giants like Wells Fargo, Costco, and Herbalife, but there was also a prayer tent hosted by a small 
TLA: How, how has your relationship been with the city? It must be pretty good.Bales: Pretty good. However, they can't fund us. They won't fund us. City and County won't fund us because of our faith. But we have helped model what needs to be done. If you were to call the county 211 number and say, “I'm a dad and mom with three kids,” they'd say the only place to go is Union Rescue Mission. So, they know what we do and respect us and count on us to come through. We never turn away a family with children who comes through our door. We never turn away a woman, a single woman who comes to our door. Rarely would we ever turn away a man. Every night the police call me and see how many bunks we have open and I will never tell them that we have no bunks. So, really we never turn away a man either and that makes us a very unique mission. We're the only rescue mission that welcomes single men, single women, moms with kids, dads with kids and two parent families with kids.TLA: In a video recently released to promote the 5k you mention how the situation is pretty grave. It's gotten worse. What would you tell just the average person that looks at the homeless situation, sees that it looks pretty hopeless. How do we address the homeless situation?Bales: If we all work together, we could be like New York City, that puts a roof over 95% of the people experiencing homelessness and is embarrassed about the 5% that are still on the streets. And it's really an all out, all hands on deck, emergency approach. If we were like that, we would see a different city and we'd live up to be in the City of Angels.In LA, we only put a roof over 25% of people experiencing homelessness and we leave 75% out on the streets, which is destroying and devouring those people. We come up with a lot of excuses. I mean, you know, like the weather is good so people come here. That is an absolute myth and an absolutely false excuse. The majority of people on the streets of LA are Angelenos, longtime Angelenos. You can die from the weather on the streets. We know people who've died on the streets of LA. So there's really no excuse not to act now.Even the excuse that many Christians use, you know, "The poor you'll always have with you." But the problem is they're not finishing the verse, “The poor you'll always have with you, so be kind to them every day." Jesus in that verse is quoting Deuteronomy 15. It says, "The poor you'll always have with you, so be kind to them everyday and lend them a hand and lift them out of poverty." It's an action verse, not an excuse verse, and we turn it into an excuse like the homeless you'll always have with you. Well, that's not what needs to be communicated.We could live in the city where not one precious human being lives on the streets. And I would love to be part of making that happen in Los Angeles. That would really be the ultimate dream for me. That before I'm gone from this earth that we didn't wait for heaven to address the situation of homelessness here on earth.PHOTOS: URMOn the Web
“Ultimately, the answer for that stat is adoptive families, safe families, Foster Care, but the question is not what do families do, but what does the church do? So we came up with this campaign called Brave where churches create catalytic events in partnership with the local community to actually get the girls at risk of trafficking and say, ‘Hey, we think you are the solution and not the problem.”She adds, “I feel it’s a time when the Church has an answer with the sacredness of humanity. That every life matters to God because everyone was created with the sacred image of God inside of them, and so to acknowledge that, to recognize that, means that we fight things like slavery and trafficking and injustice.”[bctt tweet="It’s a time when the Church has an answer with the sacredness of humanity. That every life matters to God because everyone was created with the sacred image of God inside of them. - Danielle Strickland #humantrafficking " via="no"]
It is this model that begins with individual men, small groups, and movements that can provide positive results in cities such as Los Angeles today.“There are social justice issues that will not be resolved by money, education, more politics or more activism,” Luck said. “They will be resolved by transformed men who stop buying prostitutes, who start fathering their families, who stop beating their women, who stop committing violent crimes and felonies, who stop killing each other, who stop divorcing and start staying with their women, and start bringing life and health to their city on a large scale."He explains that the men documented in the Bible (Acts) who became followers of Christ became spirit filled and in this process they started changing, enabling them to “love, heal, and bring God’s justice in the city.”He adds, “The miracle people witnessed in the city of Jerusalem was men taken over by the Holy Spirit and that created a tsunami of salvation and collateral blessing and transformation across that city.”In addition, opposition from others came then and will now. Such a movement of activated Christ followers in today’s times will produce “a massive blowback by evil.” As Luck said, “They go together.”To counter the opposition and tackle social injustice it will take a “dangerous good movement of spirit empowered men” or a movement of “dangerously good men,” Luck said. 
Had the race continued, the ensuing battle between the two could have clearly reflected the current divide that's visible not only in the nation at large but within the Christian community in America.A race between actress and former FOX News political commentator Stacey Dash and Compton Mayor Aja Brown could have been an opportunity to raise the current "liberal Christian" versus "conservative Christian" debate to another level.Could-ah. Should-ah. Would-ah.
One week after Dash announced her withdrawal, Brown announced that she is dropping out of the race as well for the 44th Congressional District. Brown's decision was centered on the fact she is pregnant with her first child.“I am excited and blessed to announce that my husband of 14 years and I are expecting our first child,” Brown said in a statement released Thursday evening, April 5. “We are overjoyed at the opportunity to become parents and look forward to starting our family.”Family commitments supersede her ability to run for higher office, Brown said in the statement. She said she will continue to focus on the issues facing Compton.Just a little under a week earlier, Dash had dropped out of the race.Brown, who was featured at the Together LA 2015 conference, announced her run for the district in early March. Nanette Barragán is the current Representative of the district which includes parts of San Pedro, Wilmington, North Long Beach and south Los Angeles.Dash, who appeared on CBN News several years ago, gave her testimony of coming to faith in God during a segment,