Just after midnight at Los Angeles Union Station is when the building is cleared out and the Metro station shuts down for the night. Dozens of homeless people spill onto surrounding streets, clasping their belongings.
Behind the station on North Vignes Street, Amanda hunkers down on a corner with a friend, using some of their bags as a seat.
“I have to survive like this,” she said. “There’s nowhere for me to go right now.”
Overnight, everyone must get off the Metro trains so they can be cleaned and serviced. It’s a period known as the “end of line” policy.
Last month, Metro counted just how many homeless were seeking shelter overnight in their transit system. The report found an average of 555 unhoused people each night at stations when the end of line policy is enforced.
Union Station is among three stations within the city of Los Angeles that the Metro has designated as hotspots for homelessness between midnight and 3 a.m. According to the transit system’s count, Union Station sees the highest number of people experiencing homelessness with a nightly average of 137.
“Because of the crisis we have in our city, people are using the Metro for housing,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told KTLA.
Mayor Bass replaced Eric Garcetti on the Metro’s Board of Directors in January, and she said at each meeting, homelessness and safety are the top issues.
Last year, violent crime on the Metro jumped by 24% and this year, drug overdose deaths have soared as well.
“I’m not comfortable, my anxiety goes up,” said Metro passenger Victor Ayala, who was riding the Red Line train headed west.
Ayala said he tries to talk to the Metro Police about some of his concerns.
“When I talk to the Metro Police, they say, ‘You have to talk to the sheriff,’ and the sheriff says, ‘You have to talk to LAPD.’ So, no one knows who’s in control of what,” he added.
According to Metro, out of its nearly $9 billion budget this year, $280.2 million was approved for public safety initiatives and investments.
“I’ll tell you, my big concern is that ridership is down, and ridership is down especially among women because they don’t feel safe…but we also have to address the unhoused people that are on the train,” Mayor Bass said.
Metro says they are trying to assess properties where they could put 24-hour hubs for the homeless that would be located near stations. These hubs would offer services like showers, bathrooms and beds.
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority estimated a hub costs $1 million each year to operate and could serve up to 50 people.
Mayor Bass said Metro has offered up land so that the facilities could be built.
“Either you’re going to have people all around sleeping in tents or sleeping outside, or there will be an appropriate shelter for them to be right there,” Bass said.
Outside of the North Hollywood Metro station, Metro counted an average of 112 people experiencing homelessness each night.
We found Sarah near the station entrance on Lankershim Boulevard. She said she would stay up all night and try to find a quiet place in a park to sleep once the sun came up.
“It’s not fair to us and it’s not fair to you guys,” she told KTLA. “You guys want us to be housed. You don’t want to see us everywhere. I just wish I was doing better at this time, but I’m not.”
