The Academy of Media Arts, a renowned art school in Los Angeles, was compelled to cease operations due to the escalating homeless crisis in the city, as per a lawsuit reported by the Los Angeles Times on Sunday.
The abrupt closure on January 15 left numerous high school students in a quandary about their educational future. Los Angeles is grappling with one of the most severe homelessness crises in the nation, despite the city's billion-dollar efforts to alleviate the situation.
The lawsuit, filed by the school's founder, Dana Hammond, asserts that the school's location within the L.A. Grand Hotel, which also houses a makeshift homeless shelter, led to the homeless population adversely affecting the school. "Our students' lives were in jeopardy because of the Inside Safe residents," Hammond told the Times. "We're not enemies of the homeless shelter, we just can't put them in the same building as a high school."
In 2022, Hammond leased three floors of the L.A. Grand Hotel with the intention of relocating his school there to provide students with superior art facilities. Initially, the school attracted up to 250 students. However, this number dwindled rapidly to approximately 50, leaving Hammond unable to meet the lease's rent obligations in January.
The Times reported multiple incidents of the homeless population residing in the L.A. Grand Hotel's shelter negatively affecting or directly interacting with the school and its students. Instances included confrontations with the school's bodyguard, trespassing, and break-ins, with one man needing to be restrained by police officers. There were also reports of indecent exposure and threats towards security personnel.
The school's surroundings were littered with drug paraphernalia, empty liquor bottles, and garbage, with graffiti defacing the school sign. Hammond stated that these issues left the students terrified. Comments left on a classroom whiteboard painted a grim picture, with mentions of human feces on sidewalks, the smell of urine permeating the campus, and break-ins by 'Inside Safe' tenants.
The "Inside Safe" program, an initiative by Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, aims to relocate the city's substantial homeless population into temporary accommodations like the L.A. Grand Hotel. Despite these efforts, homelessness remains a pervasive issue in the city, with many of those provided temporary housing unable to secure permanent residences, and in some cases, returning to the streets.
Approximately 47,000 homeless individuals reside in Los Angeles, prompting the city to spend over $1 billion annually to address the crisis. The L.A. Grand Hotel, which participates in the "Inside Safe" program as temporary housing, is set to receive $20 million from the city for a lease extension through July.
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