Downtown LA Suspended Homeless Camp

7/8/2008/Downtown LA: Cleaning out a homeless camp suspended 30 feet above Figueroa Street, under First Street. Someone was living up there, on top of the ventilator shaft, for a year and a half or more. They still hadn't brought down the sofa he got up there. Video by John Rabe, host of Off-Ramp on 89.3-KPCC, www.kpcc.org.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• homeless
• rabe
• LA
• offramp

[ianjl]

I hope they at least gave the guy a chance to grab some of his stuff before they just started tossing it all down on the street. I can understand it probably represented some sort of safety hazard having all that stuff up there. But still, that was basically some guy's home. They should have at least given him a chance to remove as much of it as he could.

[johnsrabe]

John Rabe responds: The police said there was nobody there when they started getting rid of his/her stuff. I couldn't confirm the truth of this. Stay tuned: I'm going to try to see if I can figure out how he got that stuff up there. We're airing an audio piece on the de-camping on this weekend's show. -- John/Off-Ramp/89.3-KPCC Saturday/noon.

[randy109]

As Americans we are about 1 paycheck away from poverty. All the self righteous pr*cks should realize that THEY could get a minor mental illness or pick up an addiction and they would be among the homeless that they love to judge as "lazy" or "weak". With our wealth we should be ashamed that ANY of our citizens live outdoors or go hungry.

Hell, I'm a Conservative and know right from wrong because I'm also a HUMAN BEING!!

[xpanasonicyouthx]

They're not stinking vile animals, you asshole. They're people who are homeless. Just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean every homeless person is a "urine soaked psychotic."

[odmcarp]

DAMN, they must of been living there for years.

[MrPavePaws]

human rats!

[genenco1]

The problem is 2 fold. You have people with mental illnesses on the street when they could be housed, but the taxpayers won't foot the bill, and services are few. BUt the lawyers won't allow this to occur..>so either rights of individuals have to be removed, or someone has to come up with a cure for the mental illnesses.

[tha1calldgeorgiep]

@randy109 Truly spoken because you can be working a multi-figure job, live in one of them nice houses, etc. Then one day, all of those things can be taken away from you, and then you'll wind up living amongst the homeless.  It's amazing what we take for granted isn't it?

[Dovenpeis]

@randy109

I like conservatives like you. 

[PaulXDuncan]

Every once in awhile as part of my job I go down to the LA river bed in Long Beach to outreach someone. I usually find myself blown away at the creativity and inginuity of some of the camps. In Long Beach at least they usually give people a week or so heads up when they are going to clear the river bed so they can move their stuff out for a few days.

[slyrader1]

ive been living under bridges and rail road tracks for years

[JanaINJax]

@randy109 I absolutely agree. I developed a mental illness at 16, and by the age of 24 I had to drop out of work because it progressed. I have a pretty high i.q, so I hate that I am unable to pursue my dreams, or at least just be a productive member of society. If it weren't for my family, i'm not sure where i'd be right now. I'm only 28! Thanks for realizing that this is a stereotypical assumption, and we're not all drug addicts or lazy! Thank You for not being judgemental!!

[Corey897]

I've been homeless before. I hate you. With all my being. You human turd.

[TheHardcoreArtist]

settin shop like a BOSS