Kevin is such a gentle and kind man. He’s lived on the streets homeless in Los Angeles for three years. Kevin says he was hurt in a work accident, then life snowballed to where he had no choice but to live outside in a tent.
Kevin has vision problems. It makes me so angry how we treat disabled homeless people. Instead of providing the support they need, homeless sweeps make homelessness worse by displacing people. As a result, Kevin has lost all his possessions several times.
LA Sanitation gives homeless people 15 minutes to move everything. However, because we were there with cameras, they gave Kevin extra time, which is one of many reasons why it’s vital to film sweeps and film police.
We were the only ones who took the time to talk to Kevin. To learn his name. To know Kevin’s story. To understand that he has trouble seeing, especially when the light is bright. Four case workers stood in the shade across the street, never once attempting to help Kevin. When I asked them about it, they explained that legally they cannot help people move their stuff. If service providers cannot offer help, why are they even there?
Politicians say homeless people are being offered housing and services, but that is a lie. In every anti-sweep video we’ve posted, service providers verified the best they can offer is to be placed on a waiting list. In this video, an Urban Alchemy manager said, “it’s being offered; there’s just none available.” Housing and services are being offered to homeless people, but there is no housing or services available.
Taxpayers pay over $70 million each year for the Los Angeles Police Department and LA Sanitation to displace homeless people under the guise of street cleaning. We all want clean streets, yet homeless sweeps only make homelessness worse! The only way to keep streets clean is to solve homelessness; however, LA’s politicians continue to invest more in pushing homeless people out of sight than helping them. Homeless sweeps do nothing to help people, and they make homelessness worse.
If you live in Los Angeles, here is a link for the City Council contact information broken down by district. Please reach out to your legislators to demand they stop the sweeps. https://lacity.gov/directory
Nationally, please support Housing Not Handcuffs
We all must advocate for more housing and support services and stop homeless sweeps at the local level. At the same time, we must continue to pressure state and federal legislators. Your voice can help end homelessness. If we do not fix the affordable housing crisis, homelessness will worsen.
Click here to tweet, email, call, or Facebook your federal and state legislators to tell them ending homelessness and creating more affordable housing is a priority to you.
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