Residents see some progress in dealing with 'Chatsworth Skid Row' 1 day after news report airs

CHATSWORTH, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A homeless encampment in Chatsworth has taken center stage in a growing political and public debate over ways to find housing for those with no home, as what one person dubbed the "Chatsworth Skid Row" instills fear in metro riders as well as parents and children who visit the 24-hour daycare center just a few yards away.

Anger has been growing for people in the area as the homeless encampment near the Metro station located at 10040 Old Depot Plaza Rd. has persisted for years, with seemingly a jurisdictional issue at the center of the inaction. The Metro station and much of the surrounding neighborhood is within the city limits of Los Angeles, but the nearby homeless encampment is located in the jurisdiction of unincorporated Los Angeles County.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath is the supervisor who represents the area. She said she's working with the city to help the homeless people get the services they need and that she's well aware of the situation here.

"There are services and support that people are being offered," said Horvath. "There's a whole way in which the community can be approached through the street teams that go out. So there's a lot more that we can do. It's about engagement, we can't give up."

On Friday, Eyewitness News saw the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority talking with the homeless people living in the dozens of tents in the encampment to assess their needs.

But people who use the Metro station and use the daycare facility say the homeless do not want to leave, and that they are concerned for their safety.

"I've seen people shooting up here, I've seen people lighting up pipes here. It's very dangerous," said Marilyn McCormick, a parent who takes her child to the daycare center near the encampment.

Horvath said she is working with the city to come up with a plan to help the people living in the encampment.

"We have to work together, we can't let the boundaries between city and county be the reason why people aren't getting the help that they need. So we're pushing forward to make things happen quicker. And we hope to have some good results here very soon," she said.