Category Archives: Homelessness

Lessons from Echo Park Lake Confrontation Include Costs and the Role of the Media

(Editor’s note: A CTN reader sent me a link to a 101-page Echo Park Rehabilitation After Action Report, compiled by the L.A. Police Department. The report has a lot of statistics and money figures — and speaks about how LAPD … Continue reading

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Homeless Encampments Scare Away Kids and Seniors at the Westchester Recreation Center 

  This photo was taken in 2019 at the Senior Center located between the swimming pool and the library at Westchester Park. The room was filled with seniors. On July 19, Circling the News walked around the senior center, which was … Continue reading

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Mar Vista Residents Oppose Using Public Parks for Homeless

Parks Need to Be Returned to Children and Seniors (Editor’s note: In May, Councilman Mike Bonin proposed turning two well-used City parks, Westchester and Mar Vista, two beach parking lots, Will Rogers and Dockweiler, into sites to house homeless people. … Continue reading

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Opinion: Encampments [Not Homelessness], and What We Can Do

(Editor’s note: This July 25 op-ed piece by Julie Milligan is reprinted by permission from the Westside Current.) People throughout Los Angeles are both outraged and confused by the dangerous and dirty conditions of our sidewalks and streets, our parks, … Continue reading

Posted in Environmental, Homelessness | 2 Comments

Tiny Homes May Not be the Answer for Some

Circling the News was tipped off by a reader about the Tiny Home Village in Albuquerque. He thought that since they are being built and proposed throughout Los Angeles, there might be some “take-aways.” The New Mexico Village was funded … Continue reading

Posted in Homelessness | 1 Comment

Donate Shoes and Socks for the Homeless/PPTFH Meeting

New Socks and Lightly-Used Shoes Sought Members of Corpus Christi Parish, on behalf of the Volunteer Collective, will collect new and lightly-used shoes, and new socks for the homeless. Donations are welcomed. Please bring those items either on Saturday, July … Continue reading

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Beach Parking Lots Have Already Been Analyzed for Housing the Homeless

The City Council voted 13-1 on a motion by Councilman Mike Bonin and Mark Ridley-Thomas to study the feasibility of using Will Rogers State Beach, Dockweiler Beach, LAX land and two city parks, Mar Vista and Westchester, as sites to … Continue reading

Posted in City/Councilman Mike Bonin, Community, Homelessness | 6 Comments

Little Empirical Data to Support “Housing First” Strategy with the Homeless

(Editor’s note: Circling the News has heard that “housing first” is a priority for the homeless. After seeing so many mentally ill on the streets—and those who have drug problems or may be self-medicating—I looked for data to show the … Continue reading

Posted in Homelessness | 3 Comments

Homeless “Residents” Prevent Neighborhood Kids from Playing at Westchester Recreation Center 

Across Los Angeles, children have suffered most during the pandemic shutdowns. First public schools were closed and then some neighborhood parks became unusable because of City policies. Westchester residents, who share Councilman Mike Bonin with Pacific Palisades, reached out to … Continue reading

Posted in Homelessness, Kids/Parenting, Parks | 5 Comments

A Window into the Nightmare of Living Next to the 405 Underpass

(Editor’s note: This story is printed by permission with the Venice Current. CTN knows this area of town (under the 405 freeway at Venice). My daughter lives in an apartment, about six blocks, from this homeless encampment. Since she moved … Continue reading

Posted in Homelessness | 3 Comments