L.A. County Votes To Ban Homeless Encampments From Being Set Up Near Schools And Daycares

Homeless encampments will no longer be allowed to be set up near establishments that service children in Los Angeles.

Despite pushback from protestors, the Los Angeles City Council moved to ban the homeless community from setting up tents and other encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycares. The 11 to 3 vote will only block homeless Angelinos from sitting, sleeping, or camping in areas dedicated to schools and daycares.

As of 2020, there are about 3,898,747 people living in Los Angeles. Next to that group, there are about 66,400 homeless people in Los Angeles County. With limited space around the city, many of the homeless have been forced to take up residency in parks, streets, abandoned buildings and more.

There are currently about 750 public schools within the Los Angels Unified School District and about 1,000 commercial daycare businesses in the city, ABC 7 reports.

During the vote, the meeting was disrupted by demonstrators who said the council is making it illegal to be homeless. On the opposite end, some supporters praised the ban, highlighting the potential danger of children being exposed to drug use, violence or mental illness by some of the homeless community.