Outraged Los Angeles beach community residents confronted leaders of homeless housing programs as the popular coastal neighborhood reached its breaking point this week.
More than 100 residents of Venice, California, decried rising crime and deteriorating public safety during a packed meeting on Monday, where they demanded accountability from two homeless facilities that opened near Venice Beach, according to a report by Fox News.
One person reportedly said that Venice residents have been “finding dead bodies” during routine cleanups, while others cited drug activity, trespassing, and fears of letting their children walk through the neighborhood by themselves.
The meeting addressed The Journey Program and Safe Place for Youth, two supportive housing facilities designed to help individuals facing challenges such as homelessness, physical or mental disabilities, or substance abuse.
The homeless facilities — which neighbors blame for a steep decline in safety and quality of life — were opened about 18 months ago on Lincoln Boulevard, just two miles from Venice Beach.
While Venice Community Housing claims on its website that “providing supportive services in conjunction with stable housing is the proven long-term solution to end homelessness,” one resident argued, “This feels like a lot of lip service and not a lot of action.”
“We’re finding dead bodies as we’re doing our daily shit and piss cleanup every morning,” another asserted during Monday’s packed community meeting.
A third resident reportedly told the crowd, “I don’t feel safe sending my teenage kids out to walk the dogs on their own, and that’s ridiculous.”
“We’re getting traumatized,” another neighbor proclaimed. “Our lived experience is getting destroyed.”
Residents and business owners say the homeless facilities have introduced more crime, drug use, trespassing, illegal dumping, and violence to the area, prompting them to call for increased security in the neighborhood, stronger oversight, and stricter accountability from the organizations operating them.
“I’m sorry, I don’t want to be interviewed on camera today,” Venice Community Housing Co-Executive Director Allison Riley told FOX 11 as she was asked for an interview after the meeting.
When pressed about why she was declining an interview, Riley replied, “It’s just not part of my plan.”
Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes the neighborhood, told the outlet that her office has been receiving complaints from residents for months.
“We’re going to continue to fix this and hold these people responsible for providing their own security and for ensuring the neighborhood around these facilities remains safe,” Park said.
The city councilmember further claimed that officials might “start talking about” pulling back funding for the homeless housing organizations in the future if conditions fail to improve.
“Then we can talk about walking back their future funding and making ongoing funding contingent upon requiring some basic neighborhood respect standards,” Park said.
Nonetheless, residents and business owners left Monday’s meeting unconvinced, saying they want to see meaningful changes, not more empty promises.
“It can’t just be an open door,” one business owner said. “Actions need to start having consequences.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
