Real estate owners throughout the greater Los Angeles area are grappling with the homeless issue, and there aren't a lot of places to turn for solutions. Earlier this month, Scott Caswell, a principal at Lee & Associates, gathered more than 600 signatures from property owners when local leadership wouldn't respond to complaints about the increase of homelessness in Chatsworth. Caswell said that there is a dearth of options for citizens to turn to for solutions or help.

Local leadership responded after the petition circulated, and the police department isn't equipped to deal with the homeless problem. “The directive of the police department is not to touch it unless they absolutely have to,” Caswell tells GlobeSt.com. “That is because they don't have the resources and they don't want to get into litigation over an issue. They can't afford the potential lawsuit or issue over something like homelessness when they have bigger issues to deal with.”

This homeless problem was unique in that RVs had moved into and parked in an industrial park. “While this was happening, they were told that they could stay there overnight, but they had to clean up in the morning,” says Caswell, adding that the problem quickly escalated. “When the police did attempt to help with the clean up, it required two police officers, two people from waste management, and two people from HAZMAT to go to an RV and tell the owner that they have sprawled too far. It required six people to do that.”

Chatsworth isn't the only area experiencing an issue with homelessness. Downtown Los Angeles has seen a severe increase in homelessness as a result of the development boom in the area. Caswell spoke to a police officer about the difference between the homeless population in the two markets and why there are fewer RVs downtown. “Downtown Los Angeles is a rough neighborhood, and if they are parked in the wrong spot, they get beat up or their place is lit up,” relays Caswell. “Out here, it is a nice environment and people give them things. This is easy from them.”

Mostly, Caswell wants a solution to the problem—not to move it to another market. The police's inability to help is just one issue that makes dealing with the problem more difficult. “Some people's hands are tied,” adds Caswell. “One part of this that isn't being touched upon is the fear of the police to address any of this. The police officers are frustrated because they can't be a taxi service and they can't pick up a homeless person and move him to another location. There are a lot of wasted efforts by a lot of people.”

Instant Insights /

Police Aren't Equipped to Deal With Homelessness

Related Stories

Recommended For You