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Action: Integrate best practices for working with persons experiencing homelessness utilizing the river corridor.

Many unsheltered residents live in homeless encampments alongside the LA River.

Encampments can impede operations and maintenance efforts and often pose challenges to both environmental and public health, particularly water quality. The provision of permanent sanitation and hygiene facilities, coupled with a centralized set of guidelines for the management and clearing of encampments based on compassionate practices, when necessary, will ensure that the river corridor is a space where all people feel safe, have access to basic needs such as restrooms, and are treated with dignity.

Geographic Boundaries

Potential Funding Sources

Click above for other actions that involve the implementation lead or potential partners or that apply to the same geographic boundaries.

Methods

specific, tangible ways to reach the goal

  • Review and update guidelines for clearing of encampments along the river to optimize notification timelines, use compassionate practices, and coordinate with outreach teams.
  • Continue and optimize the LA County Public Works temporary sanitation stations program while developing more robust sanitation facilities.
  • Provide, at a regular cadence of approximately every mile, permanent facilities for sanitation that are regularly maintained, staffed, and coordinated with river amenities.
  • Coordinate with river staff programs to train staff to interact with persons experiencing homelessness.

Best Practice

Public hygiene facilities currently operate in 4 cities in California, including LA.
LavaMaeX, 2018.
Photo of a Lava Mae shower station.
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