Tent City for Homeless Tied to Insurance
A holiday season tent city for the homeless will be constructed in downtown Los Angeles late today or Wednesday if organizers can obtain insurance for the site, a spokesman for the homeless said.
“Several people have come forward with the $2,500 needed for the insurance,” said Chilton Alphonse, a spokesman for Justiceville, the organization trying to erect the tent city.
“(Insurance) logistics should be clear Tuesday,” Alphonse said late Monday. “We’re probably looking at late Tuesday or Wednesday morning before the tents are erected.”
The absence of insurance prevented the organization from erecting the tents on state property near City Hall to shelter and feed 300 of the city’s homeless through Dec. 30, said organizer Ted Hayes.
The group had the funds for insurance last weekend, but were unable to obtain a policy. State officials said they could not waive insurance for the tent city.
Gene Marquart, chief of the state Office of Insurance and Risk Management in Sacramento, said the State Police permit to set up the encampment was contingent on obtaining the liability insurance.
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