Protesters clash with police as Van Nuys homeless encampment clearing starts

Yahoo

5 days ago

Protesters were seen clashing with police once city crews opened the gates to start clearing a large homeless encampment in Van Nuys on Thursday morning.
At least one person was seen being arrested as city sanitation workers and LAPD officers moved in to dismantle tents and remove debris along Oxnard Street near the 405 Freeway.
The cleanup effort began around 6 a.m. in the 15300 block of Oxnard, near the Burbank Boulevard exit, where officials say the encampment has drawn complaints from residents and business owners for months. A portion of the street has been blocked off as city crews begin clearing the area.
KTLA spoke to some of the people impacted by the cleanup. One unhoused individual, currently packing up belongings, shared her fears about the uncertain future ahead.
'I'm nervous. I'm scared because I don't know what we're gonna do. Like, I know we're gonna get possible housing, but that can always just… they can snap, snatch that away from us. There's no guarantee,' she said. 'A lot of us don't have jobs, and we're unemployed and just trying to make it. We don't do bad things because we want to be bad. We do bad things because we don't have any other ways to get what we need.'
On Nov. 14, 2024, the same site was the scene of a fire that sent thick black smoke across the San Fernando Valley. The fire broke out the same day as a small plane crash near the Sepulveda Dam, overwhelming first responders across the region.
Sky5 aerials Thursday morning showed police securing the area as sanitation workers staged nearby. KTLA's Rich Prickett noted that some residents had previously placed makeshift fencing around the camp, limiting access for city crews. Outreach workers were also seen offering services and temporary housing options to those being displaced.
The Van Nuys cleanup comes as local leaders face mounting pressure from both the state and federal government to remove homeless encampments from public spaces.
In May, Governor Gavin Newsom introduced a model ordinance urging cities to 'resolve encampments' using billions in state funding and recent legal clarity from a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that allows enforcement of anti-camping laws. The plan prohibits long-term camping in one location and requires local officials to offer shelter and give notice before clearing a site.
'There's nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,' Newsom said. 'Now we're giving [cities] a model they can put to work immediately—with urgency and with humanity.'
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whose Inside Safe initiative has moved more than 4,000 people indoors since 2022, praised Newsom's support and said the program has cleared 95 encampments so far.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on July 25 directing federal agencies to assist cities in clearing encampments and enforcing bans on urban camping, drug use, loitering and squatting. The order emphasizes civil commitment for individuals with serious mental illness and addiction, and it restricts federal funds from supporting harm-reduction programs like drug injection sites.
According to the latest estimates, roughly 187,000 people are experiencing homelessness in California, including 72,000 in Los Angeles County. City officials say homelessness in L.A. dropped by 4% this year—the first decrease in several years—but clearing encampments continues to outpace permanent housing placements.
A small group of community members gathered near the Van Nuys site Thursday morning in support of the unhoused residents, some holding signs and voicing concern over the cleanup. One supporter emphasized the difficulty of accepting the city's offers when plans remain unclear.
'I know many people who do want to take an offer, and of course, we support everyone taking an offer, but it's really hard to do when they're unclear about where you're going to go,' the community member said.
The city says services will continue to be offered throughout the day. The cleanup remains ongoing.
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