Members of the Pacoima Neighborhood Council listened to community concerns about a growing homeless RV encampment on Bradley Avenue near the Pacoima Wash during the group’s May meeting and promised to explore the issue in their Public Safety Committee.
“We are living in increased litter on the streets [from the RVs] – toxic waste, such as urine [and] feces on the sidewalks,” said longtime Pacoima resident Teresa Paniagua, reading her statement to the council. “They have also taken over part of the sidewalk, blocking it with wood for their privacy, and [some] keep aggressive animals carelessly and let them [roam] free on the sidewalk.
“We have seen an increase in robberies in the area, starting with small things to the point of living day to day with fear and insecurity,” she continued. “As a community, we need support from our [political and community] leaders, to work together to find a solution.”
Council President Mikayeel Khan initially responded to Paniagua’s statement by suggesting she call 3-1-1 for the LA city helpline to report her concerns about the RV encampment. Paniagua, who created a Change.org petition in April seeking support from the LAPD, the LA City Council and area residents regarding public safety issues she attributes to the RVs, said she and other neighbors have reported their concerns about the encampment multiple times with no response.
“We’ve done that – we’ve been calling and reporting the things that are happening, but nothing happens, nothing changes,” she explained, adding that she hopes officials can relocate the RV encampment and get help for the homeless occupants. “Instead, things just keep getting worse.
“Most of my neighbors agree with me; a lot of them have had their homes burglarized, too,” said Paniagua, whose house on Del Sur Street near Bradley Avenue has been broken into. Video from her home surveillance camera shows a person jumping the locked gate surrounding her house during the day; they stole hundreds of dollars worth of new drills and other tools. In a separate incident, someone stole the catalytic converter from her husband’s truck in their driveway.
Rosa Jerez, who shares a home with her mother and children on Del Sur Street near the homeless encampment, also attended the May 15 meeting of the Pacoima Neighborhood Council. She said the surrounding neighborhood has deteriorated significantly during the three years they’ve lived there. In the last month alone, Jerez noted, someone stole her bicycle and her truck was vandalized – one of the windows was broken and the cover on the back of the truck was stolen.
Most alarming, said Jerez, just last week her mother and daughter spotted a man in their front yard, peering in through the window. They both yelled and the man quickly ran away, she said.
“This happened in broad daylight,” she told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol. “We see people loitering around here all the time, and it makes us feel nervous and fearful, not only about going outside but also being inside our own home, because we don’t know what might happen next.”
Reuben Garcia, who chairs the Public Safety Committee of the Pacoima Neighborhood Council, invited Paniagua and her daughter Daniela Bernal, who helped launch the online petition, to participate in a future meeting to discuss community concerns about the RV encampment.
Garcia said he plans to survey Bradley Avenue and take photos and will coordinate with the senior lead LAPD officer for that neighborhood, and the field deputy and homelessness liaison from the office of Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez to schedule a meeting in the next few weeks.
“Obviously, there’s no magic wand for us to wave and everything will be gone – I wish there was, but different parts of the city [Los Angeles] get different services,” acknowledged Garcia, noting that a homeless encampment in Pacoima won’t get the same quick resolution as one in Venice or Beverly Hills.
“When we call with these concerns here [in Pacoima], it’s like it falls on deaf ears,” he continued. “This has been going on for years; this is nothing new to us, [but] the community is getting tired of it. … So we’ll have a meeting and see what we can do for the residents.”
Paniagua said she appreciated Garcia’s invitation, but said, “I won’t believe anything will really change until I see it happening.” For now, she feels somewhat encouraged that her Change.org petition has had a moderate uptick in signatures, increasing from 254 to 428 in the last week. She hopes the number of supporters keeps growing, but she knows some people are hesitant to sign.
“When I was approaching parents at Vaughn Pandaland School [near the encampment] asking them to sign the petition, one woman said to me, ‘I believe people have the right to live under any kind of roof they can get in order to survive – don’t you?’” recalled Paniagua. “I told her, ‘Yes, of course.’ I’ve always believed that. After all, we all live under the same roof under God.
“I have compassion for people who are struggling,” she added. “Unfortunately, when it’s happening to you and you’re afraid for the safety of your family, something has to change.”
To view the Change.org petition, go to: www.change.org/p/are-you-tired-of-the-rvs-homes-invading-our-neighbors-let-us-put-a-stop-to-the-invasion.
