INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KNX) — For the second day in a row, homeless encampments near Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium were being cleaned up ahead of the Super Bowl, which is just a few weeks away.
Critics are claiming the sweeps, which were conducted Monday and Tuesday, are attempts by officials to hide the homeless problem in the city from the hoards of fans expected to flock to the area for the big game on Feb. 13.
Cleanup crews and California Highway Patrol officers arrived Tuesday morning to a site off of the 405 Freeway near Century Boulevard to clean a homeless camp next to the freeway, with the focus on items left underneath.
On Monday, another nearby homeless camp was cleaned up and cleared out.
A crew member who was cleaning up the freeway site Tuesday told KNX a dozen homeless people in that area were offered motel vouchers, but only one accepted.
Locals and housing advocates have criticized the timing of the cleanups, but Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts said agencies have been working with the homeless there for years.
Advocacy group Services Not Sweeps issued a statement to CBS Los Angeles about the current cleanup efforts.
“This is the same strategy politicians use any time a major event comes to L.A., whether it’s the Super Bowl or the Oscars or the Olympics. They use cops and criminalization to sweep away evidence of their failure to address Los Angeles’ affordable housing crisis.”
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