Virgil Middle School encampment cleared in LA's latest homelessness operation

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday that the latest ‘Inside Safe’ operation in Koreatown and the surrounding areas, including near Virgil Middle school, concluded on Thursday, Oct. 12.

"The Inside Safe operation next to Virgil Middle School is a testament that we all share a commitment to addressing safe passage concerns expressed by the school community," said Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho.

The latest operation focused on four different clusters of encampments in the area and brought more than 100 unhoused Angelenos inside, officials said.

"We will continue to do everything we can to confront this crisis with the urgency it deserves," said Bass.

Inside Safe is an initiative that was launched to house Angelenos already living in encampments, and prevent encampments from returning. The program is one of the city's primary strategies in confronting the homelessness crisis.

"By working together across local jurisdictions, we are preventing our unhoused residents from getting pushed from one community to another," said LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. "Collaboration is essential to ending this crisis…"

This marks the 28th Inside Safe encampment operation in the city. 

According to officials, the program's main goals include reducing the loss of life on the streets, increasing access to mental health resources, eliminating street encampments, promoting long-term housing stability and enhancing the safety and hygiene of LA's neighborhoods.

"Our work is far from done. This initiative represents just one piece of our ongoing efforts to address the homelessness crisis that reaches our shared constituency," said Mitchell.