The city of Los Angeles and LA County must find shelter for thousands of homeless people who are living near freeways, a federal judge ordered, saying their health is at risk from pollution, earthquakes and the coronavirus.
U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter issued a preliminary injunction requiring relocation of an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 people camping near freeway ramps and under overpasses and bridges. He gave officials one week — until May 22 — to come up with a plan for providing “humane” housing.
Carter said alternatives to shelters could include “safe parking sites” to camp or hotel and motel rooms that the county is renting under Project Roomkey, a state program established during the pandemic to get thousands of homeless off the streets temporarily to avoid transmission of COVID-19. The lawsuit, filed in March, asked the judge to set a “legally enforceable mandate” to establish homeless services and enough beds for anyone who needs one on any given night.risks, blocked sidewalks, untreated mental illness and addiction, environmental hazards and increased crime, according to the filing.
Project Roomkey was created in April by Gov. Gavin Newsom and uses mainly federal money to acquire hotel and motel rooms for the homeless to shield them from the virus. Los Angeles County has by far the largest number of homeless in California — about 60,000 — and officials there set a goal of obtaining 15,000 rooms through the program.
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