{"id":4551,"date":"2026-08-18T04:23:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T04:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551"},"modified":"2026-08-18T04:23:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T04:23:06","slug":"i-dont-know-what-we-would-do-without-them-fed-up-ca-residents-hire-ex-gang-members-to-curb-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/p>\n
\n

Residents of Venice, California, have hired ex-gang members to combat the homelessness crisis impacting their city.<\/p>\n

Read more 14 Charged In Penn State Drug Ring That Allegedly Made Pledges Cut And Bag Cocaine<\/a><\/p>\n

A group of 250 residents and businesses, including apartment owner Rick Swinger, are paying \u201cGhost Town Consultants\u201d to serve as private security and protect Venice from havoc caused by the homeless encampments plaguing the city, according to the California Post. The firm was founded by Bobby Luna and Ricky Myers, both of whom have ties to the area. Luna is a reformed alcoholic, and Myers is a former homeless teen turned reformed gangster.<\/p>\n

Residents, including Swinger, pay Luna and Myers $300 each to monitor their properties, photograph conditions, and provide updates, according to the California Post.<\/p>\n

Swinger explained his decision to employ Luna and Myers as private security while speaking with the outlet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what we would do without them,\u201d Swinger said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were in a war zone. We saw everything. I got hurt, my wife got threatened. We called for help \u2014 no one showed up,\u201d he described conditions in Venice prior to working with Luna and Myers. \u201cIt just kept getting worse.\u201d Swinger also told the outlet he would wear a full hazmat suit during attempted cleanup efforts in the city.<\/p>\n

Myers offered a similar sentiment.<\/p>\n

Myers alleged that people were high on meth, and pipes and needles were found on the ground near the local Penmar Recreation Center where he was coaching children. Practice was eventually canceled because the area wasn\u2019t safe for the children to play.<\/p>\n

Read more Economic Alarm That Foreshadowed 2008 Crisis Is Blaring Again<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He said he was \u201cpissed\u201d about what was happening, which led to the founding of \u201cGhost Town Consultants\u201d with Luna.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did it out of our hearts because this is where we grew up,\u201d Myers told the outlet. (RELATED: \u2018They Come Like Thieves In The Night\u2019: Mother Of Victim Blasts Gov\u2019t Policy That Could Grant Serial Killers Parole)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The firm describes itself as having \u201cdeep roots on the West Side since the 1930\u2019s\u201d and providing \u201cunmatched, personalized property management for your home or business,\u201d according to the company\u2019s Instagram profile.<\/p>\n

The firm takes a peaceful approach to managing security operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey come by, and they talk to them [homeless vagrants], and they get them to move,\u201d Swinger said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s very peaceful,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Myers and Luna also hand out food to vagrants and try to help them get sober.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a 24-hour policy at this office,\u201d Luna said. \u201cIf you want to get off the street and you want to get help, come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more GOP Consumers Souring On Trump\u2019s Economy As Midterms Loom<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Residents of Venice, California have hired ex-gang members to curb the homelessness problem in their city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[166,1081,1771,3265,3819],"class_list":["post-4551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-california","tag-gangs","tag-homeless-crisis","tag-venice","tag-venice-beach"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness - Home Transfer Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness - Home Transfer Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Residents of Venice, California have hired ex-gang members to curb the homelessness problem in their city.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Transfer Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-18T04:23:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-18T04:23:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551\"},\"wordCount\":473,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/da896258abb8e3793cfe5bf5e2e0ca8a.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"california\",\"gangs\",\"homeless crisis\",\"venice\",\"venice beach\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551\",\"name\":\"\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness - Home Transfer Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/da896258abb8e3793cfe5bf5e2e0ca8a.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-18T04:23:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/da896258abb8e3793cfe5bf5e2e0ca8a.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/da896258abb8e3793cfe5bf5e2e0ca8a.webp\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":549},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4551#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Transfer Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness - Home Transfer Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness - Home Transfer Guide","og_description":"Residents of Venice, California have hired ex-gang members to curb the homelessness problem in their city.","og_url":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551","og_site_name":"Home Transfer Guide","article_published_time":"2026-08-18T04:23:06+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529"},"headline":"\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness","datePublished":"2026-08-18T04:23:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551"},"wordCount":473,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/da896258abb8e3793cfe5bf5e2e0ca8a.webp","keywords":["california","gangs","homeless crisis","venice","venice beach"],"articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551","url":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551","name":"\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness - Home Transfer Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/da896258abb8e3793cfe5bf5e2e0ca8a.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-18T04:23:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/da896258abb8e3793cfe5bf5e2e0ca8a.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/da896258abb8e3793cfe5bf5e2e0ca8a.webp","width":1280,"height":549},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4551#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018I Don\u2019t Know What We Would Do Without Them\u2019: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/","name":"Home Transfer Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/hometransferguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}