Tag: homelessness

City of Los Angeles Accused of Hiding the Homeless Ahead of the Oscars: ‘They Kicked Everybody Out of Union Station So It Looks Better for the Image’

The Oscars are a day away and are already coming under fire. The city of Los Angeles is being accused of hiding the homeless as Hollywood prepares to toast itself ahead of Sunday’s 93rd Academy Awards ceremony. One man told local news he was told to either move or have his things demolished.

The celebrity-studded ceremony is being held at Union Station in Los Angeles, an area bedeviled by homelessness. But on Sunday, the homeless will not be seen anywhere near Union Station, according to a report by Fox 11 Los Angeles.

“They came to us about a week ago saying that we had to move by Friday, 6 p.m. because they were trying to clean up for the Oscars and they told us if we didn’t move, they were gonna just demolish our stuff,” DJ, a man living in a tent in LA, told Fox 11. “They forced us to go to the Grand Hotel on 3rd and Figueroa and they kicked everybody out of Union Station so it looks better for the image.”

Keep reading

A Dozen Cops Dispatched to Protect a Dumpster Full of Food from Hungry People

The state of Oregon has one of the largest homeless populations in the country. Its largest city, Portland is home to the 4th largest houseless population in the entire United States. Having such a large homeless population means that there are a lot of hungry folks in the city. So, when the local Fred Meyer throws the entire store’s perishables in the trash because they lost power, it garners the attention of the hungry, as well as those who wish to feed the hungry.

As the following case illustrates, it also garnered the attention of a dozen cops who collected their taxpayer funded salaries to guard the dumpster and make sure the food never made its way to this homeless population.

According to reports, the Fred Meyer story on Hollywood in Portland lost power on Tuesday and threw away  thousands of food items they say were no longer safe for consumption due to the temperatures the items had reached.

The decision was made “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a Fred Meyer spokesperson. To be clear, the food was not expired and was actually preserved outside due to the cold temperatures and many people were more than willing to take it regardless of the warning from Fred Meyer.

When someone spotted the food, they posted it on social media and individuals, hungry and helpful alike, descended on the Fred Meyer dumpster.

Keep reading