Shocking pictures show tent cities alongside LA freeways

21/05/2020

Shocking pictures show tent cities alongside LA freeways amid growing row over bid to move up to 7,000 homeless people from squalid encampments

An order issued last week by US district judge David O. Carter asked authorities to disperse freeway camps
The judge cited concerns over the effect of tailpipe fumes on the health of those living in squalid tents
A hearing to discuss how city and county officials plan to deal with the order was cancelled on Wednesday
Both authorities submitted separate plans on Tuesday evening and neither agreed to foot a monumental bill

Photographs of plastic coverings and squalid tents lining Los Angeles’ freeways’s on and off ramps have shown the shocking extent of the homeless crisis in the city – as city and county officials row over who will pay to disperse the 7,000 people living in the roadside encampments.

An order issued last week by US district judge David O. Carter asked authorities to form a plan by tomorrow to move the thousands of homeless people living alongside freeways.

The judge cited concerns over the effect of tailpipe fumes on the health of those living underneath congested zones. Other threats to safety include the risk of the freeways’ collapse during an earthquake or if the camp falls in the path of a car crash, reported the Los Angeles Times.

A hearing to discuss how city and county officials are going to respond to the order was cancelled yesterday after the authorities failed to come up with a combined solution. Talks broke down on Tuesday evening after the two parties struggled to decide how to fund the monumental operation.

An order issued last week by US district judge David O. Carter asked authorities to form a plan by tomorrow to move the thousands of homeless people living alongside freeways. Pictured, plastic is draped over items to form a makeshift shelter next to a freeway off-ramp in Los Angeles

The order will take affect tomorrow, but a dispute over who will pay the tens of millions of dollars for extra shelter places to send the thousands of dispersed homeless has left the city without a plan.

Los Angeles county and city representatives offered separate outlines for how they would deal with the order, both with varying degrees of detail but focusing on creating more shelter spaces and safer parking areas for the homeless to move to.

Carter was forced to cancel the hearing when he realized the authorities had failed to combine their ideas.

County officials proposed a ‘shared funding arrangement’ but had no specific breakdown over who would pay for what. And city officials refused to agree to the plan without knowing how much they would be expected to pay.

‘The City would not agree to a shared funding arrangement as proposed by the County for operational costs (such as food, laundry, security, etc.) associated with City’s pilot programs,’ according to a brief filed jointly by county and homeless advocates.

Carter was forced to cancel the hearing when he realized the authorities had submitted different plans. County officials proposed a ‘shared funding arrangement’ but had no specific breakdown over who would pay for what. And city officials refused to agree to the plan without knowing how much they would be expected to pay

Grey plastic sheets are pinned to a fence along a sidewalk underneath a freeway in the city. Rob Wilcox, a spokesman with the city attorney’s office, said the city ‘is not comfortable finalizing an agreement committing itself to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the development of shelter opportunities before resolving the funding of those needed services’

This makeshift shelter has the words ‘not now! not in the mood to deal with’. The homeless people living in these squalid conditions could soon be moved on, but officials are unsure how to pay for the extra shelter places and housing needed

Rob Wilcox, a spokesman with the city attorney’s office, said in a statement that the city ‘is not comfortable finalizing an agreement committing itself to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the development of shelter opportunities before resolving the funding of those needed services.’

Daniel Conway, policy advisor to the LA Alliance for Human Rights claimed the ‘disconnect’ revealed the extent to which the city is in a homelessness crisis.

He said: ‘Unfortunately, the city and county couldn’t agree on who was responsible for funding and operating these shelters. This disconnect says a lot about how Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis has reached this scale.’

Meanwhile, homeless advocates have warned the order could result in people in need being moved but not placed into suitable housing or a shelter.

Shopping carts hold people’s possessions including black bags filled with clothes. Daniel Conway, policy advisor to the LA Alliance for Human Rights claimed the ‘disconnect’ revealed the extent to which the city is in a homelessness crisis

A rainbow umbrella brightens up its drab surroundings at the encampment in the city. Homeless advocates have warned the order could result in people in need being moved but not placed into suitable housing or a shelter

Tents of all sizes occupy the sidewalk underneath the freeway. Los Angeles’ Mayor Eric Garcetti fears moving the homeless from their established camps could only be done by law enforcement officers

And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said dispersing the homeless could cause further outbreaks of Covid-19.

Los Angeles’ Mayor Eric Garcetti added that moving the homeless from their established camps could only be done by law enforcement officers.

‘There’s ethical issues. There’s health issues. And then there’s just logistical issues,’ he told The Times. ‘I don’t know who could enforce this besides a law enforcement officer. I don’t think I want those images. That’s not good for us.’

Of some $1.57 billion given to Los Angeles County by the federal government in the first wave of relief funds, the city received $700 million.

There are thought to be 15,000 homeless people aged over 65 or with health conditions such as diabetes, groups considered more at risk of death if infected by the virus, living in the city

Items from this encampment have fallen into the road. The federal order is expected to test the limits of Martin vs City of Buise, a ruling on homelessness by 9th US Circuit Court of Appeal that found it was unconstitutional to punish people for sleeping on sidewalks where there is an absence of shelter places

A woman sits in a wheelchair at this roadside homeless encampment in the city. Ed Avol, professor and chief of the environmental division at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, said those who live near high concentrations of traveling vehicles, even if living in a house, are more likely to suffer from asthma, breathing problems, diabetes and other medical problems

Pete White, executive director of the antipoverty group Los Angeles Community Action Network, said he worries an order to clear encampments would mean enforcement from LAPD and the county Sheriff’s Department

A man reads a book while sitting in an office chair at an encampment. Since the outbreak began in the county in late January, 3,300 hotel beds have been secured by officials to house the homeless population. In a county with at least 60,000 people living on the streets Mayor Garcetti set up a thousand emergency shelter beds in converted city recreation areas

Since the outbreak began in the county in late January, 3,300 hotel beds have been secured by officials to house the homeless population. In a county with at least 60,000 people living on the streets Mayor Garcetti set up a thousand emergency shelter beds in converted city recreation areas.

There are thought to be 15,000 homeless people aged over 65 or with health conditions such as diabetes, groups considered more at risk of death if infected by the virus, living in the city.

Some 39,573 have tested positive for coronavirus so far in the county, with 1,913 recorded deaths.

The federal order is expected to test the limits of Martin vs City of Buise, a ruling on homelessness by 9th US Circuit Court of Appeal that found it was unconstitutional to punish people for sleeping on sidewalks where there is an absence of shelter places.

Further plastic sheeting marks another camp next to a train, which is aptly emblazoned with the words ‘Clean-Air First’. Of some $1.57 billion given to Los Angeles County by the federal government in the first wave of relief funds, the city received $700 million

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said dispersing the homeless could cause further outbreaks of Covid-19. Words on a sheet at this site read: ‘Beining exployted honk help’ [sic]

Bicycles line the road at an encampment. Although the order is expected to be fulfilled tomorrow, neither the city nor county authorities have been able to think of an effective way to disperse these roadside camps

Ed Avol, professor and chief of the environmental division at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, said those who live near high concentrations of traveling vehicles, even if living in a house, are more likely to suffer from asthma, breathing problems, diabetes and other medical problems.

Judge Carter wrote: ‘The court has continued to learn from the parties, as well as other participants in hearings and conferences, it has become clear that many homeless individuals face an additional, immediate health hazard as a result of camping near freeway overpasses, underpasses, and ramps.’

‘I believe Judge Carter is really invested in getting something done,’ said White, whose group has intervened in the case being heard by Carter. ‘The danger with simply getting something done is that oftentimes you forget about the nuance and the fact that details matter.’

MailOnline has contacted Public Health Los Angeles County and Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office for comment.

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