CHATSWORTH, Calif. — RVs are a bit of a sore subject in the city of Los Angeles as they are often connected to homelessness and, at times, public safety hazards like fires.

What You Need To Know

  • Throughout the year, multiple industrial streets in Chatsworth were lined with upside-down dumpsters, concrete blocks, barrels and more where RVs once parked

  • LADOT said it did not place the barriers there and that the Department of Public Works, StreetsLA, will investigate for “potential public right-of-way violations”

  • Nathan Romine, an outreach worker with About My Father’s Business Homeless Outreach Ministry, says he’s not sure who put them there, but it’s only disconnecting people from services

  • One woman says the barriers have made the area much safer

One woman who asked to remain anonymous and works near Nordhoff Street in Chatsworth — where concrete blocks now line the street — says it’s cleaned up the area.
 
“All the fires and stuff were just not safe at all. It was definitely a hazard and then there were some cars that were just cars that were completely stolen or broken into,” she said.
 
Throughout the year, multiple industrial streets in Chatsworth were lined with upside-down dumpsters, concrete blocks, barrels and more where RVs once parked.

In an email, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation said LADOT did not place the barriers there and that the Department of Public Works, StreetsLA, will investigate for “potential public right-of-way violations.”

City Councilman John Lee’s office and the Department of Public Works, StreetsLA, did not respond to Spectrum News requests for comment.
 
Nathan Romine, an outreach worker with About My Father’s Business Homeless Outreach Ministry, says he’s not sure who put them there, but it’s only disconnecting people from services.
 
“We’ve seen individuals move around. They are no longer reliably in one place and that is in part due to a lot of the obstructions we see here in the public right-of-way. We’ve seen cinderblocks, we see oil drums filled with sand or water. We see trash cans thrown out onto the public right-of-way and this seems to occur shortly after individuals have had their encampments swept,” Romine said.

 
Taylor Rangel, who lives nearby in an RV, says he’s hoping to get connected with housing.

He says he hasn’t been offered yet.
 
“Now, we don’t know where to go. We’ve got to move every couple of days and it just … it sucks,” Rangel said.
 
In the meantime, Romine hopes to see more solutions for homelessness and fewer barriers.
 
“We’re seeing people purposely putting these barriers into the street where people don’t regularly drive. They’re often in industrial areas and so we know they are purposefully targeting individuals who are just seeking to find some peace and quiet to survive as they wait on a variety of lists to connect with housing,” he said.
 
Back near Nordhoff Street, one woman says it made the area much safer.
 
“It definitely worked on cleaning up the environment and making people feel safe to walk and if they take their lunch break, now they can get some exercise,” she said.
 
Roadblocks in a city seeking solutions for homelessness.