Cleanup operation underway to remove RV encampment in Gardena
The Brief
Dozens of RVs are located along the Gardena-West Rancho Dominguez border.
For years, residents complained that the influx of trailers led to overcrowding.
Cleanup efforts began Wednesday, April 30th.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials are taking action against a homeless encampment that has been growing in the area for years.
The backstory
Dozens of RVs are located in the East Gardena-West Rancho Dominguez area in unincorporated LA County with the heaviest concentration along Compton Boulevard between Main Street and South Avalon Boulevard.
For years, residents have complained about the influx of trailers leading to overcrowding, and say the surge in the population has increased crimes such as prostitution, drug dealing and burglaries.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST), in coordination with several county agencies, is leading a cleanup and outreach operation in the area.
The effort will involve removing trash, debris, and RVs that some unhoused Angelenos have been calling home for years.
Dig deeper
The operation is part of the Pathway Home Program, an LA County Homeless Initiative-led encampment resolution program adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2023.
Since the inception of the Pathway Home program, the Sheriff's Department Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST) has placed 1,300 individuals into interim housing and off the streets.
The program has helped remove 775 dilapidated RVs from the streets of unincorporated Los Angeles and Contract Cities.
"It's an amazing feeling. It's very rare we get to see an immediate impact on people's lives, but it takes a lot of coordination and work.," said Pathway home director Kimberly Barnette.
Seventy to eighty people are expected to be brought indoors from the RV encampment Wednesday alone, according to Pathway Home spokesperson Denis Wolcott.
The goal of the operation is to transition individuals from homelessness into safe, permanent housing in order to enhance public safety and improve the quality of life for both unhoused people and the surrounding communities.
LASD Lt. George Suarez has been on the frontlines of homeless outreach for years.
"Services in a unique style. Everything is brought all at once. The housing resources are guaranteed and we've done outreach and know every single person in the encampment, so they're on a list and we know who tries to sneak in," he said.
"It is clearly a humanitarian crisis. We're seeing the positive momentum we're seeing the true work now happening," he added.
County officials said the individuals experiencing homelessness will be offered housing and support services, with transportation provided by social workers on site.
The RVs will be towed to a recycling center and dismantled, according to sheriff's officials. The operation is expected to take approximately three days.
Keys To Success
One of the keys is leveraging outreach service volunteers the homeless trust, like community advocate Dave Matthews and Rigo Alejo who turned his life around after nearly a decade living here in an RV.
"I am an example to all these people around who I used to hang out with if I can do it anyone can do it," said Alejo.
Other success stories include Erin Echavarria who, with a little guidance, got herself an apartment and job.
And 65-year-old David Peters, who just exchanged his RV for housing after someone ran over his dog here.
Cleaning up the whole county is a slow process, but Pathway Home has sure made a dent…and already come full-circle.
"they listen and ask me if they can help and clean-up," said Alejo.
The Source
Information from Los Angeles County officials.
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