The Story

The Echo Park Encampment

From 2019 to 2021, a large encampment of people experiencing homelessness grew in Echo Park Lake, Los Angeles. While many saw the encampment as a problem, others saw it as a temporary solution for a city unable to house its most vulnerable citizens during the COVID pandemic. Unlike most encampments that are tucked under overpasses or pushed into Skid Row, the encampment was in a highly visible space in Los Angeles and became a flashpoint for the housing justice movement. 

Gustavo Otzoy

Gustavo came to Los Angeles in 1981 from Guatemala. Once a homeowner, he lost his home in a legal dispute and ended up living within the Echo Park encampment and doing construction and handyman jobs to support himself. Within Echo Park, he found a community and solidarity with a network of neighbors. Through engaging with Streetwatch, CHIRLA, and other mutual aid groups, he became a local figurehead in homeless advocacy. 

The Raid

On March 24th, 2021, Gustavo Otzoy and his neighbors found themselves surrounded by hundreds of LAPD officers in the midst of the controversial raid on the Covid-era Echo Park homeless encampment. 'Fences to Freedom' is the untold story of what led to the encampment forming, its eventual eviction, and the consequential effects on Gustavo’s life thereafter.