At the mention of the bustling, ocean-side city of Los Angeles, undoubtedly many things come to mind: Hollywood, vacations, Beverly Hills, opportunity, beaches, tropical weather, etc. With countless tourist attractions and world famous landmarks to draw in outsiders, not to mention the alluring call of potential fame and fortune, L.A. is seemingly always painted as an environment sans issues and struggles.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles and explore the area as a wide-eyed tourist. The experience was nothing short of overwhelming in many ways. Simply put, there is just so much: so many people, so many places to see, so much going on at all times. Amidst the glamour and luxury that this town boasts, however, there comes a reality check on the streets between nearly every location you go: L.A.'s massive homeless population is clearly visible.

The magnitude of this situation is honestly unfathomable until seeing it first-hand. It's no exaggeration when I say that we took note of literally hundreds upon hundreds of tents lining the sidewalks of the streets just outside of downtown L.A., occupied by individuals and families, essentially creating full-sized communities of individuals without homes. Similar situations can be found in the less traversed roads mere steps away from Hollywood Boulevard, just out of the eyes of tourists. The same rings true all over Los Angeles. From Santa Monica and Venice to the northern suburbs, this problem is evident and incredibly alarming.

As of last January, a count revealed that over 43,000 individuals in Los Angeles were homeless. Within that massive number, nearly 5,000 live in downtown, while groups of hundreds or even thousands of others are dispersed across the rest of L.A. These numbers are simply staggering. There are more homeless individuals in Los Angeles than the population of my hometown, times 10. That's a hard fact to swallow.

Let's think for a moment of the disparity among the economic cultures that exist within Los Angeles. There is an excessive amount of wealth stationed in the city amongst celebrities, successful entrepreneurs, and businessmen and women. With high-profile residents living in Beverly Hills and Hollywood, the prime hub for countless forms of media production such as music and movies, L.A. is the place to be for pursuing a career in show business. Yet, at the same time of this distribution of wealth, thousands are without homes in the very same place.

As with combating homelessness in any city, this issue deserves the appropriate attention from the rest of the world, especially with numbers this high. As of now, the city of Los Angeles has begun taking action toward creating more shelters and opportunities to help the homeless population in essential ways, including assisting with matters of mental health. Hopefully, as the years progress, this will be an ongoing and successful process to better the lives of countless citizens.

It's incredibly important to keep in mind, when traveling and visiting new places, that therein exists a place's own issues, despite the facade given off by the lure for tourism or other attractions. And the best way to combat these issues is to make them known.