Rapidly growing' homeless encampments spring up near LA's celebrity-filled Beverly Hills neighborhood - where the median home price is $3.5M

Beverly Hills is the stomping ground of the Hollywood elite, but spiraling homeless in Los Angeles means that vagrant encampments risk spilling into the hallowed area.

Santa Monica Boulevard is the dividing line between the Hills - where the median house price is $3.5million - and nearby Beverly Grove where clusters of tents have sprung up amid the department stores and green parklands.

Photos taken on Tuesday reveal tarpaulins, shopping carts, mattresses and loose bedding next to busy junctions and on the sidewalks of the wealthy suburb.

The scenes were captured along San Vicente Blvd, near the upscale Beverly Center shopping mall where celebrities including Victoria Beckham, Paris Hilton and Hailey Bieber have all been known to shop.

(Homeless encampments are becoming increasingly common near Beverly Hills, one of LA's most affluent neighborhoods)

(Pictured is a homeless encampment near Beverly Hills on April 11, 2023)

(Tents are pictured scattered along the sidewalk in Beverly Grove, near Beverly Hills, along with bicycles wheelchairs and loose bedding)

An estimated 40,000 people are homeless in the city of Los Angeles, which has a population of nearly 4 million people.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority estimated there were around 70,000 people experiencing homelessness in the wider Los Angeles County in 2022, a four percent increase since 2020.

In January the affluent Sherman Oaks neighborhood, just north of Beverly Hills made national headlines after three people died on its streets in just one week.

There are no certain statistics on homelessness in Beverly Hills, but in a report seen by local paper the Beverly Hills Courier, city manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey wrote that it 'seems to be increasing'.

Last year a number of residents in the neighborhood gave testimony to the city council on their experiences of homelessness as part of a discussion to address the escalating issue.

Many of my peers are considering moving because they consider the situation hopeless,' said Amy Conroy, who said she is afraid to let her children play outside.

Recently elected Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ran a campaign on claims she was going to address the growing homeless crisis in Los Angeles.

(According to Beverly Hills City Manager, Nancy Hunt-Coffey, the amount of homelessness in the area is increasing. Pictured: tents in nearby Beverly Grove)

(In the center of junction in Beverly Grove, near Beverly Hills, tents and tarpaulins have been set up by some of LA's homeless population)

(A homeless person is seen napping on a patch of grass in a park on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Crescent Dr.)

(A homeless man sits on a public bench in Beverly Grove, near Beverly Hills on April 11, 2023)

(Some residents of wealthy Beverly Hills told the city council that they were considering leaving as they didn't feel safe allowing their children to play outside)

Ref: Rapidly growing' homeless encampments spring up near LA's celebrity-filled Beverly Hills neighborhood - where the median home price is $3.5M (dailymail)