Category: Skid Row

LA City Council Approves Settlement of Homelessness Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles City Council approved a settlement with the LA Alliance for Human Rights on May 11 in which the city will spend up to $3 billion over the next five years to develop as many as 16,000 beds or housing units for the homeless, enough to accommodate 60 percent of the homeless…


Skid Row: The Broken Heart of Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES—As the morning sun created dramatic shadows against the skyscrapers of Los Angeles, a man stood in the middle of 7th street blocking traffic and looking in his pockets for something that was not there. He ignored the traffic, while cars gently moved around him and carried on with their commutes, until he slowly…


50 Arrested in Police Investigation Into Skid Row Drug Dealing

LOS ANGELES—A two-year investigation into narcotics dealing in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles has resulted in 50 arrests and the seizure of various quantities of drugs, including more than 46,000 fentanyl pills, authorities said Dec. 3. The multi-agency operation—including personnel from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)—targeted those responsible for “sales and distribution…


LA’s Largest Expected Homeless Housing Development Breaks Ground in Skid Row

LOS ANGELES—A housing project in Skid Row that officials say will be the largest homeless housing development in Los Angeles history broke ground Sept. 28. The Weingart Towers, which will include a 19-story high-rise at 555-561 S. Crocker St. and a 12-story high-rise at 554-562 S. San Pedro St., will offer a total of 382…


Appeals Court Strikes Down Judge’s Order to House Homeless on Skid Row

A federal judge’s order requiring local governments to house the homeless on Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles was unanimously overturned by a federal appeals court on Sept. 23; the case was sent back to the lower court for proceedings. The Los Angeles Alliance for Human Rights, a group of stakeholders and residents, sued Los…


Suspected Arrested in Fatal Stabbing at Brentwood Homeless Encampment

LOS ANGELES—A man was arrested for allegedly fatally stabbing another man who intervened in a dispute between the suspect and his girlfriend today at a homeless encampment outside the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs facilities. The attack was reported at about 6:40 a.m. at 11301 Wilshire Blvd., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department….


Suspect Arrested in Fatal Stabbing at Brentwood Homeless Encampment

LOS ANGELES—A man was arrested for allegedly fatally stabbing another man who intervened in a dispute between the suspect and his girlfriend today at a homeless encampment outside the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs facilities. The attack was reported at about 6:40 a.m. at 11301 Wilshire Blvd., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department….


Los Angeles City Council Considers Developing Facilities for Homeless to Store Belongings

Homeless people in Los Angeles may soon be able to store their possessions in small-scale shipping storage facilities on city-owned properties such as parking lots and vacant parcels.   The Los Angeles city council voted Aug. 31 to pursue a motion that directs city officials to look into options for funding the program, and for five different storage facility locations across the…


Why Housing the Homeless Is Failing in California | Andy Bales

Los Angeles County is becoming ground zero for the homeless problem in America. Experts say the number of homeless has doubled in the last 10 years to 80,000. The problem is so bad that LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is asking the Board of Supervisors to declare a local state of emergency. My guest is Andy Bales, who’s been…


Mission Offers Help for the Suffering on Skid Row

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Rev. Troy Vaughn knows firsthand the plight of the homeless on Skid Row. Once homeless himself in the early 1990s, he now gazes out the window of his executive office from the top floor of the Los Angeles Mission. The mentally ill, drug addicted, economically disadvantaged, and victims of trauma wander outside the mission. One middle-aged man sits in a wheelchair, crack…