Challenges and Efforts in Addressing Homelessness in Los Angeles

Abigail Aguirre has struggled with sleep due to noise from a nearby homeless encampment. The loud parties and music disrupt her rest, affecting her husband’s early work schedule. “They don’t let us sleep,” she remarked about the situation, citing drug use and disregard for noise levels as ongoing issues near their South Los Angeles home.

Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program relocated many homeless individuals from Aguirre’s area to nearby hotels and motels three years ago. Sanitation teams cleaned up the streets, but new people with tents continued to arrive in the community, including streets like 43rd, 49th, 51st, and Vernon Avenue, stretching over the 110 Freeway’s corridor. This program is part of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2025 Data Fellowship, which reported an 8% increase in unsheltered homelessness citywide, impacting Bass’ re-election, as homelessness is a key focus of her agenda.

The stretch of streets lining the 110 Freeway symbolizes the challenges facing Bass and her program. Records show that outreach workers conducted Inside Safe operations 25 times along that one-mile stretch during her first three years as mayor, repeatedly trying to bring people indoors.

Frank Gordon, who lived on Cahuenga Boulevard at the 101 Freeway in Hollywood, experienced several moves indoors facilitated by Inside Safe since 2022. Though initially successful, encounters sometimes only brought in few individuals at a time, with some locations requiring numerous repeat visits. The presence of encampments persists on many overpasses and streets.

Joel Galarza, residing nearby, associated the encampment with increased crime, fires, and public drug use. “It feels like there’s no more hope,” he lamented, adding that calls to city authorities and LAPD have been ineffective.

Bass prioritized removing street encampments, citing safety concerns for unhoused residents and neighboring communities. While many have been moved to hotels and interim housing, 43% of them returned to the streets by mid-2025. Bass acknowledged the program’s inability to achieve the necessary scale and emphasized the need to shift from costly hotels to quality homeless shelters.

Inside Safe has performed 137 encampment operations, often returning multiple times to individual sites. In some areas like East MacArthur Park and Hollywood, several visits have taken place over two years.

City Councilmember Nithya Raman criticized Inside Safe as ineffective. She argued that recurring homelessness and repeat outreach operations indicate flaws in the program.

Bass identifies many problem spots at freeway overpasses and suggests people return for various reasons, including the need for intensive psychiatric care unavailable at times. Estela Lopez of the Downtown Industrial Business Improvement District attributed repopulation to a lack of enforcement and highlighted the need for police presence post-clearing.

Some areas remained cleared of encampments following Inside Safe operations, such as 6th and Fairfax, where subsequent changes made camping difficult. In South L.A., areas near the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery stayed clear after interventions.

Councilmember Tim McOsker saw success in Harbor City, attributing the disappearance of encampments to consistent intervention and relocation of services attracting newcomers.

Even with progress in specific locations, residents near the 110 corridor experienced frustration. Elmer Roldan highlighted ongoing fire hazards and vehicle-dwelling populations increasing in numbers, despite some areas being free of tents.

The challenges persist, emphasizing the complex nature of addressing homelessness in Los Angeles.

Doug Smith contributed to this report.