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Los Angeles Accused Of Hiding Homeless Crisis For Super Bowl Weekend

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Community leaders have claimed that Los Angeles city officials were attempting to conceal the homeless crisis instead of “actually solving the problem” ahead of the Super Bowl, Fox News reported Saturday.

Homeless encampments near the locations experiencing high tourist traffic, such as Los Angeles airport, have been cleared, and the residents of the camps moved to more quiet neighborhoods, as the county prepares to host the mega sporting event, according to Fox News.

“It started with one tent, and then, eventually, in less than three weeks, all of a sudden, all these tents went up,” Yolanda Gonzalez, who lives across the street from a local library where camps recently relocated, told Fox News.

Gonzalez said about 40 camps had popped up around her neighborhood in a matter of a few weeks. (RELATED: Man Sentenced After Pleading Guilty To Poisoning 8 Homeless At Southern California Beach)

HAAVEN Shared Housing Founder Heidi Roberts reportedly said that the city’s efforts at clearing the encampments were largely futile.

“Like, you press here and it bumps up over here, press here, it bumps up over here,” Roberts said, according to Fox News. “So, it seems like they’re spending millions and millions of dollars just to shift people around to different neighborhoods when if they were smart about this, I mean, they could actually solve the problem.”

Mike Bonin, an LA City Councilman representing Venice, lamented “obstructionists” who “say they oppose encampments but try to block every alternative,” including his initiatives to proactively help the homeless, Fox News reported.

“The way to end homelessness is housing and services, which is why I oppose failed policies that criminalize homelessness and push encampments from one neighborhood to the next,” said Bonin.