The city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County have been ordered by a federal judge to find housing for homeless living under freeways during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Without adequate access to shelter, hygiene products, and sanitation facilities, individuals experiencing homelessness face a greater risk of contracting the novel coronavirus, and an outbreak in the homeless community would threaten the general public as well," U.S. District Court David Carter wrote in the order requiring the city and county to relocate an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 homeless people, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The order followed a March 10 lawsuit by the LA Alliance for Human Rights filed accusing the local governments of failing to address problems related to homelessness.
“You had a situation in Los Angeles where even before coronavirus you had on average three people dying a day living on the street,” Daniel Conway, policy adviser to LA Alliance for Human Rights, told the Southern California Record. “You have data coming from the University of California that said living on the street takes something like 23 years off your life.”
Even before COVID-19 there were outbreaks of typhus and hepatitis among the homeless in Los Angeles, Conway said. “This was already a bad situation that was just getting worse,” he said.
Untreated mental health issues and substances abuse is at the root of much of the homeless, Conway said.
“I give people credit that they aren’t necessarily ready to demonize homeless people, but at the same time they are incredibly fed up with this situation,” he said. “Our lawsuit was meant to kind of use the federal courts to compel this conversation, to get everyone at the table.”
Conway is hopeful the lawsuit will lead to solutions. The city and county have until Sept. 1 to comply with the judge’s order, he said. The case could set a precedent for other cities, he added.
“If this legal analysis applies in Los Angeles, it would arguably apply to any freeway underpass in California,” he said.
If the city and county working together can safely relocate these homeless people, that could be model for others to follow, Conway said.
“Once we really figure out how to do this, that’s when we can really start saving lives,” he said.