- Title: L.A. divided on how to deal with homeless encampments
- Date: 22nd April 2021
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (APRIL 14 AND APRIL 20, 2021) (REUTERS) TOP SHOT OF PEOPLE WALKING ON VENICE BOARDWALK NEXT TO HOMELESS PEOPLE'S TENTS MAN RUNNING AND PEOPLE WALKING PAST TENTS TENTS RIGHT NEXT TO BEACH PERSON CYCLING PAST TENTS ON BEACH BIKE PATH VARIOUS OF TENTS LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (APRIL 20, 2021) (REUTERS) KENARD DURR, 48, A VE
- Embargoed: 6th May 2021 01:09
- Keywords: Echo Park Los Angeles Venice Beach clearance encampment homeless tents
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Society/Social Issues,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001E9LS75Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The oceanside Los Angeles community of Venice Beach, known for its sun, sandy beaches, and a Bohemian, tolerant lifestyle, has found itself at the center of the city's growing homelessness problem.
Homelessness was already on the rise before the coronavirus pandemic, but officials were concerned that dispersing the homeless would spread COVID-19. So they eased enforcement against vagrancy laws, allowing people to live and sleep along the Venice beachfront.
Now, on the famous boardwalk, where tourists from all over the world buy trinkets, souvenirs and art from boardwalk vendors, a tent city has sprung up.
Vendor Kenard Durr, 48, who was homeless himself and now lives in transitional housing, said he had never seen so many homeless people in his three decades living and working in the neighborhood.
"When COVID hit, it was a whole different ball game -- maybe like ten times, ten times the amount of homeless people," he said. "The locals are like, hey, what's going on? Because we can always support, you know, a small portion of homeless. But when you have homeless all up and down the boardwalk where all the vendors are, that just disrupts business."
A March 25 operation to clear a 200-person homeless encampment in the east Los Angeles community of Echo Park has prompted calls by some for similar tactics in Venice Beach.
The Echo Park operation began with an intense outreach campaign that offered shelter to all those who wanted it, followed by the deployment of law enforcement to remove those who resisted. Virtually all the homeless took offers of help or left voluntarily. Fewer than five defied the park rangers and police clearing the park, the Los Angeles Times reported.
But when homeless advocates became aware that tents and makeshift structures were being cleared, it drew protesters. They clashed with police, who arrested 182 people.
Mike Bonin, the city councilman who represents Venice, said the focus should be on finding housing before involving police, ruling out an operation similar to that of Echo Park.
"If you're putting people into housing at gunpoint, then you're probably not offering the right solution," Bonin told Reuters. "If you are talking about hundreds of police officers in riot gear, coming and taking over a neighborhood, arresting people and closing off a major public park in the city of Los Angeles, then no, I'm not in favor of that at all."
But for Mark Ryavec, 69, president of the Venice Stakeholders Association and a member of the Venice Neighborhood Council, the Echo Park operation should be a model for Venice Beach.
"Why are they not doing it here and bringing this park back to public use and helping all of these people? You know, we have assaults and fires and some deaths out here routinely. They all need that help. And the public would like this back. It should never been allowed to slide and get into this terrible condition," he said.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday (April 19) proposed spending nearly $1 billion in the city's next budget, so more beds could be on the way. But whether the city can relocate tens of thousands of homeless without trampling their rights is just one key factor in trying to solve a seemingly intractable problem.
The city and county of Los Angeles are further guided by U.S. District Judge David Carter, who is overseeing a lawsuit brought by homeless advocates.
In his latest ruling on Tuesday (April 20), Carter criticized officials for "inaction" that "left our homeless citizens with no other place to turn." He ordered the city and county to provide enough shelter by October for all the homeless in Skid Row, a section of downtown Los Angeles where the homeless have clustered for a century.
Carter also underscored the role of systemic racism in his 109-page ruling, citing a 2018 LAHSA report that said "homelessness is a by-product of racism in America."
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