Social media posts call on LA mayoral candidates to walk Venice homeless encampments
Tensions over how to handle the homeless crisis continue to grow, and now there's a demand for the mayoral candidates running to replace Eric Garcetti to walk some of the encampments with residents and business owners.
An all too familiar scene in Venice, a small tent city, this one set up in Centennial Park along Venice Boulevard, and it's just a stone's throw away from Abbot Kinney.
"It's really sad to see people who are just down on their luck. A lot of it's mental illness, a lot of it is addiction," one Venice resident said.
A video of the encampment was posted to the account Gutter People of Los Angeles with the demand that "mayoral hopefuls" be required to walk through it and other encampments with residents and business owners.
"We sent a screen shot of the post to the top mayoral campaigns. Candidate Joe Buscaino replied to the post, saying he would do it.
"I'm ready to walk this encampment with you. Say when," was his reply.
The other released statements reiterating their immediate plans, including declaring a state of emergency to address the crisis.
"I love Venice. I'm still going to continue to live here," said Casimire Kwiatkowski said, adding that the homeless crisis is getting worse.
Kwiatkowski, who said she's lived in Venice for six years, has a noticed a big difference during that time.
"And you just have to be mindful at all times, but I mean, you've got to be that way in a big city anyway."
Venice became the epicenter of the homeless crisis during the pandemic as the unhoused population exploded, and a sprawling tent city grew along the boardwalk. It was eventually dismantled and those living there were offered services, but clearly the homelessness issue persists.
While there's frustration, there is also a great deal of sympathy for those living on the street.
"I have empathy for them, but also, it's like what are we doin to fix the solution, and I feel like we keep putting the spotlight on them, but I don't feel like we're actually collectively doing something to have conversations about it," said a Venice resident
"I bring a lot of stuff to homeless encampments, like food and any clothes or shoes," said another.
The crisis is dominating the mayoral race, but as the population of unhoused grows, exasperation among the public is becoming pervasive.
"I hope that they just address it. I mean, we talk about it, we talk about it, we talk about it, it doesn't seem like anything's happening. I mean, at what point does is the city not really going to be friendly for tourists. My family doesn't really want to come and visit anymore. So, I think just action," Kwiatkowski said.
A major issue with homeless encampments, in Venice and other areas of Los Angeles, is when the tent cities are taken down, the homeless just move to other neighborhoods, where they reestablish the encampments. Many residents in Venice want to make sure that doesn't keep happening.
