A Californian community has moved to remove and outlaw homeless encampment tents because many of them have overflowed into nearby walkways.
The move will take effect once other homeless housing options, such as a Project Room Key site and a designated homeless location at Virginia Parking Lot, become available. Culver City commissioners voted three to two on Monday to ban tents and other structures.
The mayor of the nearby City of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, promised last year to house nearly 17,000 homeless individuals in her first year in office using a combination of temporary and permanent shelters, according to Dan O’Brien, a councilman for Culver City.
The Los Angeles Times quoted O’Brien as saying, “One of my fears is that if we don’t have all the resources to help our own unhoused and Los Angeles already has the enforcement along our borders, then those who refuse housing will just cross the street into Culver City, and then further strain our resources.”
Homeless persons are permitted to stay on the streets as long as they have sleeping bags and blankets under the rule, which has no enforcement date. One of the 88 cities in Los Angeles County is Culver City.
The goal of the new ordinance in Culver City is to remove more individuals off the streets, particularly those who need more encouragement.
When the policy is put into force, locals will have the ability to report anybody who refuse to utilize one of the city’s various housing choices to the police, according to O’Brien.
In his statement to the news organization, he said, “Our hope is that this ordinance would assist give them that little more push to accept the housing and services that we are giving.”
Officials opposed to the rule said it would drive away the homeless who prefer to live outside.
Councilwoman Yasmin-Imani McMorrin told NBC news, “I am really upset.” “I believe this to be an extraordinarily damaging policy that adds nothing but punitive measures,” the speaker declares.
Another person who has been homeless for over ten years voiced his dissatisfaction and said he would not readily go.
Roscoe Billy Ray Bradley Jr. informed the news organization, “They can’t remove my tent.” “It belongs to me personally.” I have no plans to leave.
Photos received by the news organization showed Bradley Jr. standing close to his tent after having looked around it.
Although councilman O’Brien sought to prevent the homeless people in Los Angeles City from settling there, some had already done so.
Walter Lindsey just relocated to a Culver City sidewalk after abandoning the vast Skid Row homeless community in Los Angeles County.
Lindsey admitted to the news organization that although he likes Culver City over downtown Los Angeles, he doesn’t want to settle down too much.
After learning about the ordinance, Lindsey replied, “I suppose I better be ready.”
When around 100 beds are made available via different initiatives in the city, the law will take effect.
Less than 24 hours after taking office last year, Los Angeles Mayor Bass issued a state of emergency due to the worsening homelessness epidemic.
Bass said that she is “using the emergency order is our authority to fast-track things” at the moment.
“My mission is to lead Los Angeles in a new direction with an urgent and strategic approach to tackling one of our city’s hardest issues and establishing a better future for every Angeleno,” she further said.
Bass intends to construct around 3,000 new homes and set aside money to purchase hostels and flats for veterans and the homeless. She will also try to rent out whole structures to accommodate the homeless.
Although the City Council will need to approve it every 30 days, the declaration, which is expected to last six months, authorizes Bass to take more forceful executive steps to address the situation.
In all, California has around 100,000 homeless persons. Other dense populations may be seen in the northern region of the state in places like San Francisco, where about 8,000 people are camped out on the streets.
People sleeping outside on sidewalks and beneath overpasses, living in tents and automobiles, and being homeless is quite evident across California.
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