Unhoused and Mentally Ill in Venice

These pictures, taken by Matt Fisher in Venice, explicitly show how our City dealt with a woman who suffers with mental illness. According to Matt, she was regularly handcuffed by LAPD while Sanitation threw away her stuff.

I do not have much more information other than these pictures, but in my opinion these pictures tell a story; they should be used as a glaring example of how the City of Los Angeles should NOT be dealing with our unhoused population who are suffering with mental illness.

I do not know this woman. I just feel some things are so awful that they need to be shared.

The ways City of Los Angeles, LAPD, LAHSA, and Sanitation deals with unhoused people suffering with mental illness should be dismantled and defunded.

It is shameful.

LAHSA regularly works with LAPD and LAPD is still the City's main agent dealing with unhoused people who suffer with mental illness, which is outrageous.

LAPD is an armed force trained in violent methods of controll. This should not be the main City agent dealing with disabled people our society has basically abandoned.



Wasted and useless LAHSA outreach funding should be defunded and reallocated to buying motels or other property that can be converted into permanent community based, socially run board & care facilities.

LAPD should be replaced -not trained- with a treatment based system that moves unhoused people suffering with mental illness into permanent community based, socially run board & care facilities.

In some cases it may require interim placements in crisis programs similar to Exodus or safe camping sites next to services.

There are humane solutions. It is not impossible.

And we need to pay attention with love, not fear, even if we don't want to. These are our sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, or mothers.