You will not find this overnight stay on the list of WeHo’s most interesting accommodations. Located just steps to the West Hollywood nightlife scene and the best restaurants in WeHo. You can sleep under the stars and there is no travel and tourism tax at this location. But its hard to get a reservation, the heartbreak hotel is booked every night.
During the day guests are required to pack up before the ‘authorities’ tell them to move. Most weekdays the hotel breaks down in the early morning hours before it sets up again the next day. Weekends are welcome because there the ‘authorities’ are enjoying their weekends so the hotel welcomes other guests who just need a ledge to sleep on.
While the guests are not family, many of these unhoused patrons work together to cover the alley, watch their belongings, or catch a rest. There is no bathroom so they piss on the back of wall of Circus or Micky’s, often rummaging the garbage for some leftovers. Sometimes the ‘agents’ sweep, toss, throw their life’s belongings away, just like the ICE officers except it happens right here in West Hollywood almost every day.
The city’s budget which spends over 10,000,000 million dollars annually on homeless services for 101 homeless at last count..( 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, conducted by LAHSA, reported 101 people experiencing homelessness in West Hollywood. This includes 79 individuals living on the streets and 22 living in vehicles or temporary structures.) – appears to be enough to offer these unhoused a place to rest. There are 1200 properties for lease in the 90046 zip code. One might say there is enough money to put a roof over every single homeless person sleeping on our streets.
I admit it, – I am an enabler. Often there is an extra bagel of burger in my sack for one of them. It’s heartbreaking to talk to these guys and listen and hear the stories of the many who are not mentally ill. There doesn’t seem to be a program that keeps our streets and tourist areas free from the smell, the appearance, or the stench of sadness that comes along with living on the street. Welcome to the Heartbreak Hotel, – every morning you come to work it puts a tear in your eye.
[…] we keep hammering on this topic things will improve. After these last two articles https://wehoonline.com/oped-west-hollywoods-heartbreak-hotel/ and https://wehoonline.com/wehos-glitter-dont-litter-campaign-lost-sparkle/ an effort […]
This is why we can’t have nice things!
That’s 100K per homeless person per year. Let’s just move them into a penthouse apartment each. Is my math correct? 10 mil for 100 people?
yes, your math is correct but the costs include things like homeless facilities, outreach, staff, and all the expenses that go along with the business of the homeless industrial complex.
I don’t understand..City hall says it’s not for ICE,but yet they hire security to kick out the homeless out of the city,much like how ICE kicks people out of the country..!
Ten million dollars for 101 homeless people?
That information alone is all any reasonable person needs to know that something is going on that is almost for sure illegal.
How many billions of dollars are we going to spend before we realize the homeless don’t want a roof over their heads? The people who are in charge don’t want to solve the problem of homelessness because then their own gravy train will end.
This is compassion without logic!
Ditto
This exists…..because we tolerate it.
100%
Yup. So true.
The city consistently proves it couldn’t care less about the quality of the public environments. See the filthy sidewalks, tree wells, graffiti, light poles, gutters and curbs, alleyways, broken trees, condition of vacant properties, zero code enforcement. Nothing is on its way for it to change. Given the mentality, maturity level, and priorities it will likely get worse. Luckily there’s plenty of parking fines and hotel tax to pay the budget if people get fed up and leave.