The boardwalk outside Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights was affected by mobile homes that parked in the area.
Locals say what was once a safe place has become a space they avoid.
The Evergreen Walk is a 1.4 mile boardwalk where families gather for exercise. However, they assure that they would like to see more care from the authorities.
Neighbors complain that crime has increased in the area due to the alleged presence of homeless people.
“(You see) completely drunk people, drug addicts,” Margarita Sanchez told Telemundo 52, when asked if she was calmly walking around the place.
Walking, running or jogging is no longer the same thing, explains Gustavo Melendez, who had been coming with his family for 20 years. He assures us that from now on he would no longer dare to put them in danger.
“I bring them here for us,” Melendez said. “They still have a life ahead of them and bringing them here is like exposing them.”
The reason for this fear is the increase in mobile homes parked on one side of the cemetery, near the path where the inhabitants of the neighborhood walk.
“I notice that homelessness has increased a lot, a lot,” says Ruben Castillo. “I don’t know if this falls into the category of homelessness, but right now I think California is in very critical condition.”
This situation makes the residents uncomfortable since they claim that it is the only open space they have to go out and exercise.
In Southern California, residents of Granada Hills have seen a residential area fill with cars and mobile homes since the pandemic began. Homeless people live in these vehicles which would bring trash and drugs into the neighborhood.
“You are middle-class workers and they don’t have any more rights than us,” Melendez said.
District 14 Councilor Kevin de León highlighted the challenge they face moving them.
“I’m working closely with the mayor to find a central location to move these vehicles to a local hub,” de León said. “The challenge is that there is not enough land to park these vehicles”
The residents of Sylmar face a problem plaguing their neighborhood, the unstoppable rise of homeless mobile homes. Homeless people are reported to be vandalizing the streets and “taking away” electricity, water and other services from neighborhoods.
De Leon assured that moving mobile homes is not as easy as you think.
“There are not only public policies, but a legal requirement that prohibits the confiscation of these vehicles, if there is no roof for these people living in destitution”
According to the last census of 2022, the number of Latinos living on the streets has increased by 26%.
Meanwhile, RVs can only be mobilized if no one lives there. Otherwise, parking officers can only report them to homeless authorities for assistance.