Community concerned over growing encampment near Koreatown middle school

Massive homeless encampment near middle school

Tents, tarps, debris and piles of junk -- all a short distance from a nearby middle school in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES - Residents and families on the border of Los Angeles' Koreatown East Hollywood neighborhoods are raising concerns about a large homeless encampment taking root near a local middle school.

The encampment runs along Beverly Boulevard, near the intersection of N. Vermont Avenue, near Virgil Middle School. It houses about 15 people, with tents, tarps, shacks, debris, dogs and more. The city of Los Angeles told FOX 11 that they've been working on homeless outreach in the area for months. So far, about five people have accepted aid.

Josie is among those who call the area home. She told FOX 11 that she lost her job, and "just can't catch up on my bills." She lives with her boyfriend in a shack, with electricity, taken from a nearby power poll. She's been offered shelter, but she hasn't accepted because she said she's not used to all the other people who sleep in those facilities.

The encampment butts right up to a fence next to Virgil Middle School's athletic fields. Locals say the area has been a problem for years — cleaned up only to have the homeless return.

Students and parents both have gone out of their way to try and avoid the area.

"I think they have to open more apartment buildings for them because it's ridiculous," said Elsie Nzulu, the parent of a sixth grader at Virgil. "We can do nothing. Everywhere you go, you see them. They need a lot of help."

Teacher's aide Fatima Sosa, said the encampment has become unavoidable for the students and others at the school.

"We don't have a choice," Sosa said. "It seems like they're always there and it's sad for the kids because they have to walk — they can't even walk through there and if they do they have to walk in the street."

Last year, the Los Angeles City Council banned homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers. Supporters of the move said it was meant to protect students, while those against the decision said it would be used as an excuse to push around the unhoused.

It's not clear exactly where that measurement starts, but in this neighborhood it's clear the LAPD is not enforcing it.

The Los Angeles Unified School District addressed the "urgency" to address issues related to the encampment. The district's statement read, in part, "Los Angeles Unified has on an ongoing basis communicated with City officials about the homeless encampments near Virgil Middle School and the urgency to address the safe passage concerns…"

A representative from Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez's office told FOX 11 that five of the people living in the encampment have been placed in housing.

"We really want to prioritize sensitive areas like schools and parks," Soto-Martinez's office told FOX 11 in a statement. "Most everyone here has been matched with housing. We're just waiting for beds to open up and we're looking for other creative solutions to find those beds."

Soto Martinez's office said this district has 400 beds for area homeless, which are all currently occupied.