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Los Angeles, CA — Despite the continuing rise
of housing costs and a weakened economy, a government task
force recently found a rise of homelessness particularly strong
in areas around singer Courtney Love.
According to a 25-city survey released today by the U.S.
Conference of Mayors, the results were not limited to Los
Angeles, Love's hometown-- but 18 other cities also reported
an increase in homelessness during times when the widow of
rocker Kurt Cobain was staying in town or even stopping briefly
to buy illegal prescription drugs at a local pharmacy.
"It's disturbing to think that one individual -- despite
her history of substance abuse and skanky behavior -- would
affect national figures as much as she has," Los Angeles
Mayor James Hahn said. "Clearly we need to address the
problem of Courtney before we can address the larger concern
of homelessness."
"The world's richest and most powerful nation must find
a way to meet the basic needs of all its residents,"
said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "And if that
means confining Ms. Love to a space far away from the general
population, then I support it completely."
According to the Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness, cities
were most likely to attribute homelessness to a lack of affordable
housing (21 cities), mental illness (20 cities), substance
abuse (19 cities), and low-paying jobs (17 cities), though
all of them blamed Courtney Love for initiating most of these
problems.
"These are not simply statistics," said Nashville
Mayor Bill Purcell, who chairs the task force. "These
are real people who are hungry and homeless in our cities
because of Courtney Love."
In her latest court appearance on Aug. 20, Love pleaded not
guilty to a felony assault charge for allegedly attacking
a woman with a liquor bottle at her ex-boyfriend's home in
April. No homeless people were reportedly created during this
incident. But In July, she was sentenced to 18 months in a
drug rehabilitation program after pleading guilty to being
under the influence of a controlled substance. Everyone in
the rehabilitation center eventually became homeless.
Love also faces charges for allegedly striking a fan with
a microphone stand at a club in March. It is thought that
the audience member eventually became homeless when he suffered
amnesia and couldn't remember where he lived
There are no current statistics of fans of Love's music being
homeless, but common sense dictates they probably are.
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Above:
Courtney Love considered a strong indicator of homeless population
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