The sidewalk on Highland Avenue, north of Franklin Avenue, was cleared on July 15. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The sidewalk on the west side of Highland Avenue north of Franklin Avenue was cleared on July 15 by a city of Los Angeles cleanup operation at the site. As of July 17, tents that had largely blocked the public sidewalk in front of a fenced parking lot on Highland Avenue had not returned.

The cleanup was a CARE+ operation scheduled by the office of Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, 4th District, and was part of a comprehensive effort to get people off the streets and connect them with services, Raman’s spokeswoman Stella Stahl said. CARE+ operations, which involve sidewalk pressure washing and sanitization, are conducted periodically to ensure health and safety at sites where homeless encampments exist. People staying at the sites are required to remove tents and belongings, but are not prohibited from returning.

Once the operation concludes, the city continues outreach at the sites and in the surrounding area. Approximately five people had been staying at the site on Highland Avenue. At least one tent and debris is still located on Highland Avenue north of where the CARE+ operation took place, and city outreach workers are addressing it, Stahl said.

“As of now, we are going out there and conducting outreach. We are still working on and keeping tabs on the situation,” Stahl added. “Our team is working on it.”

Some people in the area said the situation improved with the recent CARE+ operation.

“I see it’s clean, it’s better,” said Hazel Vaquerano, manager of a Subway restaurant at 1900 N. Highland Ave., across the street from the former encampment. “They came and they cleaned up. It’s better now but I worry, because they keep coming back.”

Brittney Weissman, executive director of Hollywood 4WRD, which works with a coalition of organizations to address homelessness in Hollywood, said she drives by the site daily and noticed the site had been cleaned.

“It was quite dramatic to see, the day before and the day after,” Weissman added. “It’s on our radar, but there are still a lot more on our radar. It’s one of way too many.”

Rev. Kathy Cooper Ladesma, of Hollywood United Methodist Church, located on Franklin Avenue near the former encampment, said more services and outreach are the answer.

“When we see our unhoused neighbors on the street, especially in this heat, our hearts break,” she said. “When the reality of homelessness is just blocks away, it compels us as a congregation to be even stronger advocates for increased affordable housing with supportive services.”

Others in the area expressed relief because they had experienced problems with the encampment, including an employee of Proper Parking, which manages the parking lot where the tents were located.

“We have had our issues there,” said the employee, Chris, who declined to give his last name or comment further.

“They’re always out there. Hopefully the problem doesn’t come back,” added an employee of Honey Nailz, located in a mini-mall across the street from the encampment.

Stahl said staff is working to find housing for the people living in the encampment. She said it has not yet been designated as a site for an Inside Safe operation, where the city of Los Angeles identifies housing for people to move into. An Inside Safe operation was held on July 16 in another part of Hollywood near Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue, bringing 20 people into housing, Mayor Karen Bass announced. That operation was held in partnership with Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez, 13th District.

“For the first time in years, homelessness is down in Los Angeles thanks to urgent action at all levels of government,” Bass said. “We must continue this work.”