Steve Hilton used MacArthur Park as a stage to unveil his preliminary plan for homeless recovery centers as a solution for homelessness. The Republican gubernatorial candidate, with news outlets and his own campaign crew filming, motioned around the park and said, “You can smell the urine, the feces, the chaos” in the area.
As he stood on the corner of Alvarado and 6th streets, explained his \plan to separate homeless people into different groups based on their needs. In between conversations regarding drug use among the homeless, Hilton mentioned the mental health crisis that many are experiencing on the streets.
The first step of his three-course plan would be to shut down any non-profits that practice harm reduction, alleging that every day the organizations “give crackpipes, needles, and drugs.” Hilton did not name any organizations.
John Alle, a commercial real estate broker and Santa Monica native, spoke at the news conference. Alle said that the amount of people dying in LA County is comparable to the number of people dying of Alzheimer’s and diabetes; he continued, saying that every time a homeless emergency is declared, non-profits gain money, and workers profit off these crises.
Hilton answered a few questions, but said plan details would be released later this week. Hilton said he would resort to Plan B if anyone would not willingly go into his homeless recovery centers.
“We’ve got the backup of the law, which it’s illegal to live on the streets; it’s against the law, and in the end, we’ll be enforcing that law,” Hilton said.
Robbie Hall, a Long Beach resident working at Five Keys Pit Stop, a nonprofit that assists the homeless, knows the reality of mixing homelessness and law enforcement. In the past four months, Hall has been the first responder to nearly 50 overdoses.
Hall, through her tears, walked reporters through a concerning encounter earlier this year, between police and a homeless man who appeared to be overdosing. She said when she walked up, she saw an officer kicking the boy in the head. She said an officer told another staff member they were not allowed to administer Narcan, a drug that combats the effects of opiates.
“They fight up against me, telling me don’t give them Narcan, when I’m watching him not breathing; they’re turning colors,” Hall said.
Hilton invited reporters to walk around the park with him to see “disastrous policies in action” and people smoking crack nearby.
As Hilton led the reporters around the park, he pointed out individuals and encouraged the camera crews to film them. He pointed to people sitting in the park and said they were on drugs or trying to do drugs. His parade around the area did not stop there.
Hilton led the camera crews to more homeless people away from the park and pointed them out, without asking for consent to film them. One woman said she was fleeing domestic violence and putting her on camera could potentially lead her abuser to find her. The group ignored her pleas and continued to film.
To people like Robbie Hall, the homeless are more than 2 o’clock news; they’re people. She states that it could be anyone, and because of that, she will continue. Hall says she is motivated because she gets to see their faces, alive and breathing, and that is what matters.
Hilton’s declaration of war on non-profits practicing harm reduction did not sit well with community members. They consider themselves to be doing the hardest work of all in MacArthur Park.
“If it wasn’t for Five Keys, there would be a lot of dead bodies in the park,” Hall said.
Edited by JohVonne Roberts