LA City responds to homeless encampment on Chatsworth 'Skid Row'

LOS ANGELES - Approximately 40 homeless people were brought inside in the latest operation of Mayor Karen Bass' Inside Safe program in Chatsworth, the mayor's office announced Wednesday.

Bass, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and Councilman John Lee, whose 12th District includes the area in question, launched the operation Tuesday near the Chatsworth Metro station. Officials from the mayor's office said an unverified estimate of more than 40 people were brought inside to nearby motels.

The operation was "unique" in that it spanned multiple jurisdictions, the mayor's office noted.

"We must continue doing everything we can to bring as many Angelenos inside as possible throughout our city," Bass said in a statement. "We will not be able to fully confront this crisis unless we take a regional approach and that's exactly what is happening in this operation."

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Lee said the operation was the result of months of "careful planning and coordination" between the city, county and partners.

"I am grateful to Mayor Bass and Supervisor Horvath for their partnership to bring people into housing and address the community's concerns about this location," Lee said. "It is critical that we continue working together to identify solutions to this crisis."

Horvath said partnership, including "a lot of coordination and lessons learned," has been the key to bringing people inside in Chatsworth.

It was the 20th Inside Safe encampment operation in the city. The initiative has brought more than 1,300 Angelenos inside, according to the mayor's office.

Bass' efforts to address the city's homelessness crisis have included declaring a state of emergency, issuing executive directives to accelerate and lower the cost of building affordable and temporary housing, and moving to maximize the use of city-owned property for temporary and permanent housing.