Los Angeles’ Homeless Community Creates Makeshift Homes
Members of Los Angeles’ growing homeless community have used their creative skills to settle into makeshift homes alongside a busy highway, causing stares and mixed reactions.
The community, made out of materials such as tents and tarps, sits along the Arroyo Seco next to the 110 Freeway. In close proximity to Highland Park, one “homeowner” says the location is a safe space. “It’s good because nobody bothers us,” a man who goes by Cesar said.
“That’s why we’re here.”
Cesar’s home is one of the most impressive—with a front door and electricity. He has lived there for four years, working part-time and says this is the best option for him since he can’t afford housing. “He has lights, a stove, and a refrigerator for food; it’s in good condition,” he said.
“For my work, I can’t do that and move to another place because the rent is too high.”
According to the New York Post, the number of homes above the “dry river” has gone up as 46,000 residents of the City of Angels experience an increase in homelessness. One neighbor who lives close by says she doesn’t mind it. “They don’t bother me,” a woman said in Spanish. But another neighbor, while admiring the work done, feels the community doesn’t belong there. “This doesn’t belong here. This is public property,” Mike Ancheta said.
“But this is not what it’s supposed to be used for. This is dangerous. As you can see, someone is cooking out there, an open fire. They are stealing electricity. I mean, come on.”
Another woman, who cares for a horse nearby, called the set-up “scary.” “This is really scary. I take an old horse over the park to eat grass every once in a while, and I don’t dare go after dark anymore,” Connie Flanders said.
“I don’t go when there’s no cars in the parking lot.”
Residents are calling on city leadership to do something about the homeless crisis. During her State of the City address on Apr. 15, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced a call for “the most fortunate Angelenos” to join the city’s new public-private partnership campaign, LA4LA, to speed up the process of affordable housing by acquiring more properties and lowering the cost of capital. “We have brought the public sector together — and now we must prevail on the humanity and generosity of the private sector,” Bass said.
Representative of the area, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, released a statement saying the “outreach teams are working to urgently find housing for the individuals living in this encampment.” Our office believes that this status quo is unacceptable and is working to urgently address this crisis, with both short-term and long-term solutions,” the statement read.
Los Angeles isn’t the only city where the homeless community is taking housing into their own hands. In Seattle, Steve Irwin, who faced criminal charges for the destruction of Dr. Joze Rizal Park with an excavator back in October 2023, built a cabin in February 2024. He said he didn’t see anything wrong with what he was doing and admitted to using heavy machinery to clear trees.