Tents along Wilshire Boulevard continue to raise concerns about homelessness in the area. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Tents along Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile leave the city grappling to find permanent housing for people living on the streets in the area.

Numerous tents are pitched along the north side of Wilshire Boulevard on the stretch between San Vicente Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, primarily in front of vacant lots and buildings. A spokesperson for Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky’s office said members of the 5th Council District’s homelessness outreach team and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority regularly contact people living in the tents to offer resources. The city is planning a cleanup along Wilshire Boulevard on April 1 to clear trash and debris and wash sidewalks. Signs will be posted 48 hours in advance to notify anyone living in tents on the stretch that they have to move for the cleanup.

The operation is part of the city’s Comprehensive Cleaning and Rapid Engagement program, or CARE+, which delivers services to individuals experiencing homelessness.

“It’s an intensive cleanup of the area,” Yaroslavsky’s spokesman Leo Daube said. “Signs are posted in advance. They have to take their tents down and move any belongings in the public right-of-way so sanitation crews can come in. Leading up to that, we’re out there on the ground talking with them, and LAHSA engages with them.”

The goal is to ultimately find housing for people living in the tents, and the outreach is part of the path foward in getting people in the system and ready to move indoors. In the meantime, the CARE+ cleanups are an effort to keep sidewalks clean and clear, he added.

Greater Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce president Steve Kramer said homelessness continues to be a concern on the stretch of Wilshire Boulevard west of Fairfax Avenue, where many businesses have remained shuttered since the pandemic.

“I think it should be addressed, absolutely. People shouldn’t have to live like that,” Kramer said. “They definitely should do something in that area. A cleanup, if they can offer alternative housing, is a good thing.”