“I’ve never seen homeless people so harassed!”
These testimonies are from interviews by the advocacy group Services Not Sweeps, in response to brutal encampment sweeps in targeted areas all over L.A. – at a time when people are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Instead of attacking the homeless, shouldn’t the city be guaranteeing safe housing for all? – The Editors
Stephanie: My experience has been horrible. It is extremely difficult to move everything you own in such a short amount of time. I hear about the clean-ups the day before they happen, sometimes one hour before they happen. I’ve watched them throw my clothes away, and my son’s shoes. One time they took his food he had just received the night before. Once we were hounded by five different police departments. I’ve never seen homeless people so harassed every day.
T for Thomas: I have no vehicle, no way to get to the location to pick up the items that were taken. It was a setup. They (the police) give you a ticket on some BS like smoking a cig on the edge of the grass. They give everyone a ticket and give them all the same court date (the day of the sweep) and then sweep everyone’s possessions away. I was arrested for an outstanding warrant for blocking a sidewalk. So I was in jail for the day of the sweep. People who didn’t have a record now have a record.
Robert: They do one every week for the last year and a quarter. The first one they didn’t give notice, the second one was even worse because they came earlier. I lost a lot of possessions, including my mom’s bible that she gifted me before she passed. Usually the police don’t bother me unless there’s an action taking place, then they act like Roman soldiers. During sweeps we’re made fun of, treated with disrespect, made to feel like shit from the people conducting the sweeps.
