LA increases homeless camp cleanups. CDC says unhoused people should stay in place
Sanitation workers after clearing a homeless encampment in Wilmington last week.
Photo by Anna Scott.
Last week LA expanded an effort to clear and clean homeless encampments throughout the city, despite advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to allow people experiencing homelessness to shelter in place if individual housing is not available.
City officials say that growing encampments pose serious health risks besides COVID-19 to people within and outside them. Officials say the cleanups, which include outreach workers and mobile showers, are meant to provide services to unhoused people rather than punishment.