Russ Allison Loar
The city of LA has a homelessness crisis and anti-camping laws are the way to stop this problem from getting any worse.
Los Angeles has approximately 69,144 homeless people living within the city, which is the second-highest homeless population for a city in the U.S.
Most of the people that are homeless in LA set up homeless encampments along the sidewalks of Downtown and that is just not safe for a variety of reasons.
Most of these places with homeless encampments are dirty and unsanitary, not just for the pedestrians using the sidewalks, but also for the homeless people themselves living in these encampments.
Not only is it unsanitary but it is not safe for pedestrians who want to use the sidewalk because of how unpredictable some homeless people may be.
These encampments are usually riddled with junk around the homeless people’s tents which can be a hazard to both the pedestrian walking and the homeless person.
The living conditions for these people aren’t good either and it is inhumane to let them continue to live like this.
Due to LA having such a high homeless population, all of the programs that the city provides feel like they aren’t effective.
Many cities across the United States have already jumped on this law and are beginning to enforce these laws with LA now being one of them.
The city of LA has already banned public camping in certain areas and they’re planning on banning more areas with one of LA’s shelter programs for the homeless ending soon.
If the city passes more of these laws and enforces them they could help curb the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles.
The passing of these anti-camping laws will also make the city safer, cleaner and will allow people to use the sidewalks again.
With the passing of these laws, a new solution would be required to house all the homeless people and that solution will be small housing units.
Tiny homes have been an idea that has been floated for years now as a solution to ease the homeless crisis for a while now.
These homes are already being built and used to house communities of homeless people in LA and LA County.
The city can allocate these funds to finance the tiny home projects with the taxpayer money that Angelinos already pay.
The city definitely has vacant land and lots to create these tiny home villages and it’s just about creating a multitude of them around the city for homeless people to access.
It is important we get these people a proper roof over their heads and get them back on their feet along with making the city’s sidewalks a safer and cleaner place for passer byers.
It’s time for people to start supporting this bill and call their local leaders to get this on the ballot to be voted on.