What happened when California tried to fix its homelessness crisis as the pandemic arrived msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged communities, public health experts worried about the deadly consequences for homeless people sleeping on the streets.
It’s a group rife with other health problems that could make it especially susceptible to the easily transmissible coronavirus. In the spring, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned against disruptions such as clearing encampments, which could increase the potential for spreading the disease.
On Monday, a coalition of lawyers and advocates for homeless people complained that the city of Los Angeles was ignoring that advice by cleaning camps, putting people in encampments throughout the city at heightened risk.
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.
LA Is Spending $130,000 Per Tiny Home To Shelter Its Homeless zerohedge.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from zerohedge.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.