The last days of a homeless encampment in San Pedro
LOS ANGELES — Jacob King holed up in his tent on the slope of a bluff overlooking the San Pedro Harbor, slumped over his knees, a cigarette wedged between scuffed fingers. It was deadline morning. City workers had posted signs saying this was the day that people in his camp had to leave.
King didn't feel like interacting and kept to the dim light of his nylon refuge, wondering if he'd get the shelter bed he said he signed up for a month ago or would he be told to move again.
The 39-year-old listened to the homeless camp come to life, a tent unzipping, a laugh, distant chatter, the crisp crack of a beer can opening.
They call this strip of dirt the Gulch not because it is one, but because it sits along Gulch Road, which runs up the slope between the harbor and Beacon Street on the top of the bluff.
Homeless people have long lived in this gritty southern tip of L.A., drawn to its halfway houses, dive bars and cheap motels. They can hang out in peace on the tree-shaded hillside, taking in the sea breeze and watching the bustle of the nation's busiest port.
King grew up in San Pedro, but how he ended up on the streets seven years ago he doesn't like to say. He
