An encampment in Los Angeles that some 20 unhoused Filipinos called home, last year became one of the sites of Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe Program.

The program sought to clean out homeless encampments by offering its residents temporary shelter, leading to more permanent housing.

Social services to ensure mental and physical health, as well as job placement services were also offered.

But after living in a hotel for the past six months some of those Filipinos that got off the Juanita street said they regret joining the program.

"Inside Safe not working and we’re tired of empty promises," said LJ, a former Juanita resident. "Our demands are still the same and very simple: provide competent and reliable case workers that are adequately trained to access permanent housing, employment, medical, and dental services."

LJ urged the city to ensure proper management for all inside safe and interim housing facilities and update security policies to allow for visitors.

He called for communal areas and finally, an end to the alleged retaliation on residents that raises issues to the program.  

The former video game consultant struggled to find housing for six years but eventually found a community on Juanita Street.

The encampment was noticed by members of the SoCal Pinoys Bayanihan Project members last summer.

Community support poured in after the group's members realized most of the residents were Filipino. 

This even caught the attention of Bass' office, which eventually included them in the Inside Safe program as homelessness continues to be one of the city’s top priorities.

"They’re just playing with me [and] my feelings," said Jayson, another former Juanita resident, who complained that he has yet to land a job as promised by the city.

"Mayor Bass, your program promised to help me. Where is it?" Juanita added. "We were promised help but I feel more hopeless today than I did when I was with the rats."

With donations from philanthropists and community leaders as well as opportunities for work, housing, and even legal services, former Juanita residents said they might have been better off relying on the community than the city government.

They blamed Inside Safe and their visitor policies for cutting them off from those who have helped them in the past.

Since they began speaking out and protesting in April, the residents claimed that more are being unjustly kicked out of the program.

"They were swept into the Inside safety program in October and are now facing an incompetent program that looks down on unhoused people," said Jill Colcol of the Housing for Juanita Campaign.

The Filipinos from the Juanita encampment are not the only people raising concerns. Other formerly unhoused communities also previously vented out similar issues.

The Mayor’s office has come under fire in recent months for the way it has tackled the homelessness issue with local advocacy groups — which filed a lawsuit against Bass.

The city is hiring an independent auditor to investigate the programs and the way homelessness has been handled in the city.

Bass' office and the city has yet to address inquiries on the former Juanita residents' concerns.

Inside Safe's website said it has brought in 21,000 homeless people in Los Angeles since December 2022, when the program was launched.

The Mayor's office recently pledged that when it comes to homelessness, it will continue to make improvements to its programs services.

On the county level, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to propose a sales tax increase to fund homeless programs on the November ballots.