A private school serving Black and Latino youth in Los Angeles was forced to close due to safety concerns stemming from the homelessness crisis, a lawsuit alleges.
Media Arts Academy founder Dana Hammond has filed a lawsuit over the school’s closure, alleging a breach of contract with the building where the school is located, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Hammond joined Tuesday’s “Fox & Friends First” and explained why he felt he had no choice but to close the school after students were exposed to drug use, nudity, human feces and even an intruder. talked about.
“There are breaches and extensions of contracts that the city continues to house…more than 400 of the highest-needs, homeless people. [are] I struggle with drug disease and drug addiction,” Hammond told host Carly Shimkus.
“My mother was struggling with drugs and illness, so I started this job to prepare students for future jobs. It was intruder after intruder, indecent exposure after indecent exposure,” he continued. Ta.
“I’m sitting in the third and fig office in my classroom today. Our students have the opportunity to see the Intercontinental Hotel, but they also have to deal with people doing drugs naked behind their backs. No. Smoking marijuana in front of the school continues unabated.”
Hammond decided in January to close the school, which was located at the Los Angeles Grand Hotel. The same hotel has been used as temporary housing for the homeless in recent years, according to the Times.
He claims he also found cracked pipes, drugs and human feces on the premises, ultimately leading to the decision to close the school.
Despite a multibillion-dollar effort to get people off the streets, city officials worry that homelessness rates may continue to rise for a variety of reasons.
Getting homeless off the streets of Los Angeles was one of Mayor Karen Bass’ key campaign promises.
Since the 2022 election, she has moved more than 21,000 people into temporary housing, according to the Associated Press.
Mr Hammond previously blamed Mr Bass’ handling of the homelessness crisis for forcing the school to close.
Bass spokeswoman Clara Karger told the Times that the mayor’s team has worked with Hammond on his concerns, including installing additional fencing, making visits and working with security guards, despite his criticism.
Still, Hammond warned that if the current trend continues, someone is “going to die” and they have no choice but to close.
“When we asked them to move… a fight with one of the guards escalated quickly,” he said. “It was a real disaster with enrollment going down, and then on January 10th, an intruder high on LSD broke into our classrooms and entered our campus…someone was going to die. And I had to get the students out of here.”
In 2023, officials reported that more than 75,500 people were homeless per night in Los Angeles County, an increase of 9% from the previous year, to about 46,200 people in Los Angeles.
