A Los Angeles County-funded homeless services campus in Skid Row is facing growing criticism from residents, business leaders, and law enforcement officials who say the facility has become a focal point for crime, drug activity, and public disorder despite receiving tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding each year.
The Skid Row Care Campus, located on Crocker Street in downtown Los Angeles, was established as part of the county’s broader effort to address homelessness through a combination of healthcare services, temporary recovery beds, case management, hygiene facilities, and harm-reduction programs. County records show the facility is operated by Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, Social Model Recovery Systems, and Wesley Health Centers at an annual cost of roughly $26 million.
What was intended to be a hub for services and support has instead become the center of an increasingly heated debate over whether the county’s approach is helping or worsening conditions in the surrounding neighborhood.
Recent reporting by FOX 11 Los Angeles documented widespread concerns from nearby residents and businesses, who describe the area around the campus as overwhelmed by open drug use, overdoses, violent crime, and constant emergency responses. According to the station, LAPD officers have responded nearly 700 times this year to the 400 and 500 blocks of Crocker Street, averaging about six calls per day. The report also noted that four homicides occurred on those two blocks during the first four months of 2026.
LAPD Central Division Commanding Officer Capt. Kelli Muñiz said the concentration of violence should alarm officials regardless of where it occurs.
“Any time you have four homicides in the same area, everybody should be alarmed,” Muñiz told FOX 11. “It shouldn’t matter the socioeconomic status of that community. We’re talking two small blocks. Four deaths in four months.”
Video footage captured by the station reportedly showed people openly using drugs near the facility, emergency personnel responding to overdose incidents, and suspected drug transactions taking place in the surrounding area.
For longtime community advocates, the conditions have become impossible to ignore. Estela Lopez, executive director of the Downtown Industrial District Business Improvement District, argued that even by Skid Row standards, the situation surrounding the campus stands out.
“Imagine how much worse this place has to be that, in spite of it being a neighborhood of chaos and mayhem 24/7, this location has stood out for how much worse it has made that block,” Lopez said.
She also questioned why county officials have not faced greater accountability given the volume of police responses linked to the area.
“If this were a private business that was causing this kind of mayhem on the streets, the city would act under nuisance abatement,” Lopez said. “When you have generated nearly 700 calls for service in a short period from the police department, there are measures that the city can take.”
Nearby resident David Fleming voiced similar concerns, describing a daily environment marked by drug use, drug dealing, public sex acts, fires, and other quality-of-life issues that have become routine for people living and working in the area.
Supporters of the facility, however, argue that the campus provides essential services in one of the city’s most challenged neighborhoods. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado defended the project, stating that Skid Row residents deserve access to healthcare, sanitation services, case management, and other resources that have historically been lacking.
“Everyone in Skid Row, residents, workers, business owners, service providers, and unhoused Angelenos, deserves to be safe and treated with dignity,” Jurado said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass acknowledged the concerns while noting that the facility is operated by Los Angeles County rather than the city.
County officials have likewise defended the campus, pointing to increased security measures, expanded outreach efforts, and coordination with local law enforcement. They maintain that the site remains a critical component of the county’s larger strategy to address homelessness, addiction, and public health challenges in Skid Row.
