Clara Harter is a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News and believes great journalism is where storytelling meets truth-telling. Right now, Harter sees the story of Los Angeles as the story of its streets, where many people are forced to live and often die. She strives to tell this story by reporting on four intersecting crises: homelessness, housing, substance use and healthcare. She recently published a four-part investigation on fentanyl addiction in L.A.’s MacArthur Park as a 2023 California Health Equity Fellow with the USC Center for Health Journalism.
Articles
A mother, a child, a best friend. The insidious drug took their lives indiscriminately.
With L.A. County fentanyl deaths spiking 1,652% in six years, the stakes of getting the right services to the right place are higher than ever.
With over 1,900 deaths recorded in 2022, fentanyl overtakes meth as top cause of overdoses in L.A. County.
A journalist shares her strategies for reporting on homelessness and addiction, with an emphasis on trust-building, a shared sense of humanity, and expert perspectives.
MacArthur Park had 83 fatal overdoses in 2022, more than any ZIP code in Los Angeles County.
There is little public information on where overdose deaths are taking place and who is dying in L.A. A new data project will seek to remedy that.
How to help address the fentanyl and homelessness crisis in LA's MacArthur Park.
In the center of a crisis, seeds of hope emerge. Grassroots efforts connect people to live-saving resources, but much more is needed.
Mom and pop shops suffer from spike in shoplifting. Residents feel unsafe near the park, where overdoses and deaths are common.
For people experiencing homelessness, fentanyl is both a tool of survival and a cause of destruction making quitting feel impossible, yet imperative.