Furious residents confront homeless housing leaders as popular beach community hits breaking point
A coastal Los Angeles neighborhood reached its breaking point this week as more than 100 residents confronted leaders of two supportive housing programs over what they described as rising crime and deteriorating public safety.
One resident told the packed meeting on Monday that Venice, California, neighbors are now "finding dead bodies" during routine cleanups, while others described drug activity, trespassing and fears of letting their children walk the neighborhood alone.
The heated community meeting centered on The Journey Program and Safe Place for Youth, two supportive housing facilities on Lincoln Boulevard that neighbors blame for a sharp decline in safety and quality of life since opening roughly 18 months ago in an effort to address homelessness in the area.
While residents questioned the programs' impact on the surrounding neighborhood, Venice Community Housing says on its website that "providing supportive services in conjunction with stable housing is the proven long-term solution to end homelessness."
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The organization also says it provides "trauma-informed resources and supports" to help tenants secure and maintain housing, improve health, enhance education and thrive in their communities.
"This feels like a lot of lip service and not a lot of action," one resident said as tempers flared.
Residents painted a grim picture of daily life surrounding the facilities.
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"We're finding dead bodies as we're doing our daily s--- and p--- cleanup every morning," one resident told the crowd.
Another parent said, "I don't feel safe sending my teenage kids out to walk the dogs on their own, and that's ridiculous."
Others described feeling trapped in their own neighborhood.
"We're getting traumatized. Our lived experience is getting destroyed," another resident said.
Neighbors accused the facilities of bringing more crime, drug activity, trespassing, illegal dumping and violence to the area, prompting residents and business owners to demand increased security, stronger oversight and accountability from the organizations operating the programs.
After the meeting, FOX 11 asked Venice Community Housing Co-Executive Director Allison Riley why she declined to answer questions on camera.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to be interviewed on camera today," Riley said.
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When pressed about residents demanding accountability over violence and drug activity spilling into surrounding streets, Riley responded, "We're trying to give that to the community, and we will keep working on that."
Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park said her office has heard complaints from neighbors for months and warned the organizations that future city funding could be jeopardized if conditions fail to improve.
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"We are going to continue to fix this and hold these people responsible for providing their own security, for ensuring that the neighborhood around these facilities remains safe," Park said.
"And you know what? Then we will start talking about walking back their future funding."
In a post on her official Facebook page after the meeting, Park thanked residents for organizing and attending the meeting and said communities are "right to expect accountability" when taxpayer dollars are invested in homeless housing solutions.
"I'm already taking steps legislatively, and you have our continued commitment to work with LAPD and VCH/SPY, to correct these issues," Park wrote.
Residents left the meeting unconvinced that enough is being done, saying they want to see meaningful changes instead of more promises.
"It can't just be an open door," one business owner said. "Actions need to start having consequences."
Fox News Digital reached out to Councilmember Traci Park, Venice Community Housing Co-Executive Director Allison Riley, the Journey Program, Safe Place for Youth and the Los Angeles Police Department for comment.