Apr 8, 2008 8:00 AM

Sound Bites

United Way's annual campaign is launching in April. What do you consider to be L.A.'s most pressing social and economic needs?

Jorja Leap, adjunct associate professor, School of Public Affairs

The most pressing challenge — both economically and socially — that L.A. faces is ongoing violence among our youth and in our communities. While there has been progress, much still needs to be done in terms of anti-violence education and prevention programs for youth at highest risk. This includes school-based and street peace initiatives, raising community awareness and organization and, finally, more support for programs like Homeboy Industries that help gang affiliated youth reenter society and work. From psychosocial intervention to media portrayal, violence prevention must be funded and supported.

Elizabeth Monaco, Training and Career Development, Campus Human Resources

I think one of the more pressing issues facing Los Angeles today is the sheer cost of living. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to raise a family in Los Angeles because the costs of housing, childcare, school, healthcare and basic services are so astronomically out of proportion with the rest of the country and even the state. Los Angeles is one of the most dynamic cities in the world and we have so much to be proud of. But if the cost of living issue is not addressed, I fear that we run the risk of losing the very talented people we need to solve our city's complex problems.

Svetlana Averbukh, Project Manager, Customer Relationship Management, Anderson School of Management

Housing prices continue to be very high. Traffic is horrendous in L.A. and is becoming worse and worse each year. Since housing prices are too high in L.A. people are moving further out in order to afford the house for the family. The combination of high housing prices and horrible traffic on the freeways makes living in L.A. area very stressing.

Alva Moore Stevenson, interviewer and program representative, Center for Oral History Research

Economically there must be more job creation for those at the lowest rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. But this is directly tied to effective education and training for those jobs. The school districts need to look at how to better prepare students for colleges/universities and for the employment arena. This is really critical because, as many of you have seen in the media, there have been many cases of people killing family members and themselves because of their economic situation. We are also seeing the devastating impact of gang violence. I would say that giving these young people and their families access to jobs could mitigate this.

On the social side, the absolute root of many societal problems can be tied back to the home. That is to say there must be better parenting and preparation for parenthood – instilling values from the time of birth. Churches and schools must be involved but the responsibility must be placed squarely in the home.

There must be a priority placed on identifying those who need mental health intervention and services. Family members and friends must take the responsibility for stepping in well before tragedy happens. And city, county, state and federal agencies must look at how to better fund, publicize and deliver mental health services.

Lastly, I hope each and every UCLA faculty, staff, student and alumni is asking themselves, "What am I doing to address the most pressing social and economic needs?"

Mary K. Purifoy, administrative assistant, David Geffen School of Medicine

The most pressing, in my opinion, is homelessness. As I walk the streets of Westwood Village it is very depressing to see so many people without a place to live. It seems like most of them are mentally ill. Some have open sores. The hospital is within shouting distance. We need to form a Westwood committee to address this situation. Why are we so out of touch with this issue? If left unattended it will only get worse. Most of us are probably a couple of missed pay checks from being in the same situation. I am willing to get involved in the solution. Should we as a community wait for United Way to solve our problem?

Michael Fehr, computer resource specialist, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library

Lack of affordable housing is by far the most pressing economic problem in L.A. A six-figure household income is necessary in order to afford the median home price. Thousands of UCLA employees represented by UPTE, AFSCME, and CUE work for salaries that do not provide even half of the income necessary to purchase an average home. Many of us are forced to rent as a consequence. Rents increased as property values skyrocketed during the housing boom, and rents continue to increase buyers leave the housing market and increase the demand for rentals. Last spring, UC Office of the President asked UCLA about giving employees and equity increase, but UCLA declined. Due to the high cost of living in L.A., UCLA employees are in need of an equity increase. As of last October, the total amount of unrestricted reserve funds throughout the UC campuses was almost $6 billion. In addition, UCLA alone has almost $2.3 billion in endowment funds as last June. UCLA certainly has the financial resources to provide an equity increase.

UC financial resources also are more than adequate to mitigate the employee salary freezes proposed for all campuses by Office of President at the Regents meeting here in January. A reasonable rate of return on $6 billion in unrestricted reserve funds, which grow each year, would cover the $419 million state funding shortfall proposed by the Governor in January without tapping into additional monies or freezing salaries.

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