A homeless encampment adjacent to a pair of schools in Hollywood has parents and city officials concerned for the students’ safety.
Perhaps the most problematic aspect of the encampment is that it blocks the sidewalk, forcing students from Selma Avenue Elementary School and Larchmont Charter School to walk in the street on their way to and from school.
Sky5 footage showed multiple tents and several people stepping into the street to get around the encampment. On that same stretch of Selma Avenue, lines of cars waited to drop off and pick up children, forcing children to dodge traffic.
School officials told KTLA they’ve called police multiple times about the encampment, including this week.
“Since March, we’ve had nine homeless-related incidents in the area, within about a 500-foot radius of the school,” said Los Angeles Police Capt. Ben Fernandes. “Out of those nine incidents, we’ve made five arrests.”
Fernandes says Hollywood leads L.A. in violent crime reduction, with a 22% decrease so far this year.