The city found housing for 25 people. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Fencing has gone up on the median along San Vicente Boulevard between Wilshire and La Cienega boulevards after 25 people were moved into housing on May 10 and 11 as part of Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program.

The operation was held after months of planning by Bass and Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, 5th District, who worked to secure housing at hotels. Temporary housing is difficult to find in the 5th District, she said, and the mayor’s office helped coordinate a move into hotels near downtown Los Angeles.

“This encampment has been particularly challenging. Unhoused individuals lived for months and, in some cases, years on the sidewalks and medians along San Vicente Boulevard,” Yaroslavsky said. “Many suffer from mental illness and drug addiction. Neighbors have endured property theft, open air drug dealing and use, regular fires and occasional violent crime. Businesses lost customers and expressed frustration and fear at keeping their doors open. I am deeply grateful to the community for their patience while we worked to find a solution.”

Yaroslavsky’s spokesman Leo Daube said the fencing on the median is temporary. To keep the area clear, the city plans to enforce municipal code laws prohibiting people from being on medians as a safety measure. Los Angeles Police Department officers were at the scene during the Inside Safe operation to let people know about the laws. Outreach workers helped coordinate the move as sanitation department crews removed debris.

Daube said some people were initially reluctant to accept housing on the first day of the operation, but changed their minds and were Marie, who asked that she only be identified by her first name, said she had been living along San Vicente Boulevard for the past two years. She said she was excited to have a place to go.

“It’s time,” she said. “I do want housing. I want to get off the streets. I’m thankful. This is no way to live out here.”

Community members said they were also thankful that the tents were removed. The city previously conducted routine cleanup operations in the area and the tents were temporarily removed but soon returned, said Tom Roth, who owns a commercial building in the 500 block of South San Vicente Boulevard. Roth added that a fire erupted in a dumpster behind his property, and he witnessed drug use and fights between people living on the median.

“No one wants to see people living in those conditions. It’s not right. I am glad the city is doing something,” Roth said. “I am optimistic this time because they found housing for them, but I don’t know. They’ve cleaned it up before and they came right back.”

Daube said outreach workers will be deployed if people return to the area, which remained clear as of May 17. It was the second Inside Safe operation held in Yaroslavsky’s district. In February, approximately 40 people living in an encampment along Sixth Street near Fairfax Avenue were moved into housing.

“It’s a really hard thing to do to find beds and make it possible for an Inside Safe Operation,” Daube added. “The important thing is to provide credible offers of housing. This has been a problematic encampment for a number of years and it was a priority for our office for several months.”