Pacoima Homeless Encampment Brings Three-Way Conflict

On Weidner Street off Bradley Avenue in an industrial area of Pacoima, the cul-de-sac is home to several businesses – and dozens of unhoused individuals residing in RVs, cars and makeshift tiny homes built with plywood and tarps on the street.

Local business owner Jim Williams has operated Hanson Rivet & Supply Co. on Weidner Street for 18 years. Fed up with having scared employees, shocked customers and the seemingly never-ending trash and strewn belongings in the street outside his business, Williams wants the unhoused encampment removed and banned from the industrial Pacoima street. 

With the unhoused population at an all-time high in the Los Angeles area – over 46,000 unsheltered individuals in the City of LA, and more than 75,000 in LA County, according to 2023 estimates – the situation on Weidner Street is an example of tensions between business owners, unhoused encampments and city officials.

Homeless Encampment Hurts Business

Williams said the unhoused encampment impedes his ability to successfully run his business. He said his 35 employees feel nervous about driving into work, and just two months ago he had no choice but to install safety gates around the perimeter of their building and parking lot.

“To tell you the truth, it’s hard to retain employees if this is the environment [they] have to drive into each and every day,” said Williams. “We’ve had windows shot out. One morning, I drove into the driveway and some lady [jumped] in front of my car [and] put her hands on the hood, and I couldn’t move. I had to call 9-1-1.”

In another recent incident, an individual from the encampment was “wielding a machete out in the middle of the street yelling things incoherently,” recounted Bill Bolde, who has worked as a sourcing specialist for Hanson Rivet for the past two years. 

Due to mounting safety concerns, Williams said in addition to the gate they installed between eight and 10 “panic buttons” across the inside of the building, to allow staff members to push a button and summon the police if they encounter an emergency situation.

Williams said the encroachment of the encampment also impacts their daily deliveries and pickups, sometimes making it “virtually impossible” for a 40-foot trailer to maneuver into their driveway. 

“We are all in favor of trying to help the homeless, the truly homeless – the destitute, those that have no hope for a better future. But that’s not what these guys are,” said Bolde.

“I don’t call them homeless, I call them street people because they’re just living on the street by choice,” added Williams, noting that no one from the homeless encampment has ever walked up the driveway when the gate is open to ask for a job.

“If it was a mother and father and two kids, and they were homeless because they were down on their luck, I’d be out there feeding them. That’s not the case here,” said Williams. “These are not upstanding people that you want to have as next-door neighbors.”

The View From the RV

Lorenzo Lopez has lived in an RV on Weidner Street for four years. He said that most of the other businesses on the street seem “pretty polite,” but claimed that management at Hanson Rivet has been outwardly hostile by playing loud music outside “24 hours a day” to try to drive them away. 

Lopez also said the business owner had the curb that runs along the entire length of their building painted red “so people wouldn’t park on their side of the sidewalk.” Previously, only a portion of the curb had been painted red. As a result, the city ended up towing numerous cars and RVs.

The only time someone approached Lopez from Hanson Rivet, he said the person “came over hollering about the mess.” Lopez said he understands why they get angry, but is bothered by the perception that he and others believe that unhoused individuals are criminals or unwilling to work.

“[They] don’t know everybody’s background; they don’t know how people got here. … For some people, maybe it is a kick-back thing. For other people, it’s a necessity,” said Lopez. “We’re not out here because we want to be; it’s because we have to. Nobody wants to live out here. 

“I used to work – I had a job,” he continued. A serious motorcycle accident on the freeway resulted in grave physical injuries to his hands, wrists, feet and “everywhere else.” Thick three-inch surgical scars remain on his wrists. Unable to work and earn a living, Lopez admitted he ended up on a self-destructive path.

“At that point, pretty much everything fell [apart] … little by little until I ended up in a really, really bad situation – even worse than what I am now,” he said. The situation ultimately severed his relationship with his girlfriend and with his spiraling circumstances, he no longer lives with his two sons. While he awaits possible placement in a housing program, Lopez said he’s grateful to have his RV and takes things day by day, but misses living with his sons.

“Right now it’s not that bad – I have a roof over my head,” said Lopez. “I do miss my boys … but [these aren’t] surroundings for kids … [so] I go out and see them somewhere else.”

City Responds But Fails to Improve Conditions

“I think the people of Pacoima – the leadership of Pacoima – they need to really prioritize taking care of the businesses, otherwise, they’re going to leave,” said Bolde.

Williams believes the situation has only worsened over the years, and said Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez and the LAPD are not enforcing existing laws and any steps they have taken haven’t fixed the problem despite countless complaints. 

Last week, Williams shared a letter publicly that he wrote to Rodriguez’s office, suggesting that she had not responded to it. 

“I take offense, and it’s an assault on my staff, when we all work as hard as we do, for people to suggest that we’ve not been responsive,” said Rodriguez.

“We’ve retained extensive records that reflect a long history of my team’s responsiveness, working diligently with you and with our partners in law enforcement to address the concerns in your area,” Rodriguez wrote to Williams after his letter was publicized. 

Rodriguez said her office is in frequent conversation with Williams and cited that her office has responded with multiple hazardous item removals, bi-weekly comprehensive street cleanups, LAPD patrols of the area, including specialized task force activities which have led to arrests and impounding of illegal recreational vehicles, and assistance in clearing the street for a requested block party. 

Although Williams acknowledges that the city and local law enforcement have addressed some of his concerns regarding the homeless encampment, he said that within days the RVs and their occupants always return. Williams says the core issue remains: the situation has worsened with each passing year, with no solution in sight.

“We can’t force people to go inside. We can only do what is legally enforceable by law,” said Rodriguez. “We also have limited resources, and we’re not just responding to his area. We’re responding to many concerns throughout the district.” 

Rodriguez pointed out that she spearheaded a nearby operation at Paxton and Bradley in 2020 that housed over 69 individuals. 

Meanwhile, with an estimated 17 additional people falling into homelessness in the county every day, the city’s efforts wane in keeping up with the increasing crisis.