Venice Cleanup Focuses On Helping Neighbors In Pandemic

VENICE, CA — A group organized and created by locals wants to bring alternatives to Venice for both unhoused and housed residents: the primary focus is to help neighbors in the pandemic.

Unhoused and housed Venice residents joined with the Services Not Sweeps Coalition for a community cleanup on 3rd and Rose avenues Thursday morning.

"In Venice, we're doing something completely different," organizer Steve Diaz told Patch. "We're coming with public health alternatives that community helps clean up, helps to educate folks on the block so that they're prepared as sanitation comes."

The program launched this week, organizers told Patch, introducing a community-based, health-focused Street Ambassador Team Program aimed at advancing COVID-19-safe cleanup efforts and preparing homeless community members to interact with and benefit from L.A. Sanitation services.

The goal is to help unhoused residents clean up their space and give them access to restrooms, water and have spot cleaning, without risk of people lose their personal belongings, Diaz said. People can monitor their items without getting displaced or having their items thrown away.

"The whole goal is to make sure that there is limited interaction between sanitation and limited interaction with LAPD because as we know interaction with LAPD oftentimes leads to criminalization or enforcement," Diaz said. "And we're not trying to have that. We're trying to create a space where people can live in cohesion and have access to better health."

"We're trying to avoid that in Venice by working to make sure folks have their stuff ready and if they so choose to have that cleaning happen, they're able to keep their property," Diaz said.

So far, the initiative is working.

"This morning people had stuff cleaned up already, they put it out on the street and it was ready to go," Erika Lee, organizer, told Patch.

Community, or street ambassadors, were hired to focus on educating and supporting people each week in Venice at 3rd and Rose avenues.

It's a special enforcement cleaning zone around the Bridge home, Lisa Redmond, organizer, told Patch.

People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) is the organization behind the Pacific Sunset Bridge Home, which is located at the former MTA bus yard on Main Street. PATH is dedicated to ending homelessness for individuals, families, and communities. The organization builds affordable housing and providing supportive services throughout the state.

It's a process, and it's a move toward support, he added.

"Supporting happens with encouragement, supporting happens with education and awareness, supporting happens with providing resources," Diaz said.

It's also changing people's outlook on homelessness in Venice.

"It's so interesting one of the people that came today — there's a perception of dirtiness — but when she came she saw a completely different story," Diaz said.

There's hope this program can help improve conditions for housed and unhoused people, Redmond added.

"The unhoused people love it and we had quite a few housed people came out to check it out this morning and saw that this program is a win-win for everyone," Redmond said.

- City News Service and Patch Editor Nicole Charky contributed to this report.