Embattled LA Councilman Mike Bonin Steps Up Efforts To Clear Venice Homeless Camps
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – As the homeless crisis continues to worsen in Venice Beach, a Los Angeles City Councilman Tuesday proposed a new plan to address the issue.
L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin announced that, beginning June 28, teams from the nonprofit St. Joseph Center will go along Ocean Front Walk and offer housing and services to the dozens of homeless people living there.
Bonin, who represents the 11th District, which includes several Westside neighborhoods including Venice, Pacific Palisades, Marina del Rey and Brentwood, said the effort will run for six weeks.
"As people and their belongings move indoors, dedicated Bureau of Sanitation resources will clean each area," Bonin wrote in a letter. "Once the people currently living in each zone have been housed, the spaces will be reactivated with community programming for public enjoyment."
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The initiative is part of Encampment To Home, a $5 million motion Bonin proposed earlier this month in the city council to address homelessness in his area. It involves providing immediate funds for bridge housing, local hotel rooms and even vacant apartments in the Venice area for the more than 100 unhoused people camping on the beach.
Bonin has been at odds with L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva after the sheriff sent deputies to Venice Beach to clear some of the homeless off the boardwalk, despite the fact that Venice Beach is not in LASD's jurisdiction.
"The only beds the sheriff has are jails, he hasn't used them yet, but he's certainly been threatening to use them," Bonin said June 10 when asked where Villanueva was taking the homeless individuals. "He has provided a very nice, but very expensive taxi service over the last couple of days and has driven people to some of the housing resources that government agencies and the social service agencies already offer."
