Pilot program set to begin
By Chole Marie Rivera
There will soon be mobile showers at the Westwood Recreation Center as part of a city pilot program.
The showers will be available a “couple” of nights a week as part of a pilot program with Los Angeles Public Works. The showers will provide common hygiene materials like soap and should be there for at least a “couple months,” Shamolian said.
There have been increased efforts to clean the park, which had been recently neglected because of a deceased park ranger. Overnight encampments are not permitted, affirmed Jasmine Shamolian, Westwood Field Deputy and Policy Deputy for Paul Koretz. We reached out to the councilmember’s office for an explanation of how these requiring unhoused persons to leave the park meets the standards established by the Martin. v. Boise ruling. In Martin v. Boise the 9th circuit ruled that ruled homeless persons cannot be punished for sleeping outside on public property in the absence of adequate alternatives.
We had not heard back from Koretz’s office on this issue at the time of publication. We will update this article with additional information if it becomes available.