AIDS Healthcare Foundation is asking that the City of Los Angeles County respond to an emerging outbreak of Hepatitis A infections with “with immediate and forceful actions: Portable toilets and hand-washing stations should be deployed immediately and the City of Los Angeles should put an immediate halt to rousting homeless encampments and concentrate instead on improving overall sanitary conditions.”
AHF’s statement, issued today, follows a declaration on Tuesday by L.A. County Health officials of a formal outbreak of Hepatitis A after the number of those infected in L.A. County rose to 10. There currently is an epidemic of Hepatitis A infections in San Diego.
The L.A. County Health Department declaration has raised concerns in West Hollywood, where the growth of the homeless population has caused some residents to demand more aggressive action including removing homeless people from city sidewalks and parks.
By contrast, AHF says the “outbreak may be both the result of, and further fueled by deplorable living conditions of homeless populations here in Los Angeles” and thus more on site sanitary resources are needed rather than removing people from the street.
Local residents have called out homeless people for defecating and urinating on city sidewalks, the only option given that most businesses will not allow them to use their bathrooms. There also are limited shower and handwashing opportunities. The Saban Community Clinic does offer free showers. Its facility at 8405 Beverly Blvd. offers showers from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Its facility at 6043 Hollywood Blvd. offers showers Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to noon. Lava Mae runs buses that offer free showers throughout downtown Los Angeles but does not provide service in West Hollywood.
If we let the homeless incubate viruses & diseases by not making them shower they may create a unstoppable plague
Who are we as residents, citizens of west Hollywood and what is that means, that drew us into this community as opposed to others in the area? As a resident myself I feel those with less means than I may have are no less members of the west Hollywood community, no less human and no less a part that reflects back on the whole, that defines the character of our city. To talk of other in such brash, sanctimonious terms as the posters above reminds me of what is ill in the country as a whole – we “other” and… Read more »
I have a feeling, the more you give them the more they will take and the more of them we will make. (at least it seems that’s the way it’s been going in those cities that give, give, give).
I am not saying accept status quo but Jesus said this:
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
10 Aware of this, Jesus asked, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.
11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.
12 By pouring this perfume on Me, she has prepared My body for burial.…
The responsible taxpayers in the community who not only value, but seek to protect their investments in home, hearth, family, and security cannot – and should not – be asked to compromise these values, much less be admonished, criticized, and or ridiculed for voicing, standing up for, and insisting community leadership pursue enforcement of not only the letter of the law but common decency! The most definitive study on the homeless population conducted to date – funded by the National Institute of Mental Health – unequivocally demonstrated that only about one-third of the homeless population was mentally ill, further demonstrating… Read more »
There are a lot of people – many with nothing but genuinely good intentions – who believe that working in a homeless shelter, providing “tiny houses”, storage bins, and other such “hand outs” to be “community service” – As if aiding and abetting vagrancy is necessarily a “service”, rather than a disservice to the community. In San Pedro for example, its apparent that more and more homeless people are not working and with ever increasing numbers, hanging out on the streets. The facts are, that these people urinate, defecate, engage in sexual activity, aggressively panhandle passersby on the sidewalks and… Read more »
Most I see are mental or high, in one form or another. AHF is delusional to think they would use these facilities, especially since there are places they can utilize currently.
Get them to a shelter.
Get them vaccinated.
Power wash our streets.
Repeat.
So the deplorable conditions that were allow to fester and incubated this disease are now expected to remain and have free concierge service.
AHF has become an organization that only really wants to serve it’s own needs and survival.