An ambulance, an empty lot and a loophole: One man's fight for a place to live
Published in News & Features
After a hard day's work, Cameron Gordon sometimes finds a bit of solace as he lounges on the gurney in his yard, surveying a patchwork of weeds, potted plants, garden beds and a hose that meanders across the dirt.
This is where his struggle to navigate the housing crisis has left him: living by day on an 18,000-square-foot lot in Sun Valley, pulling weeds, watering trees — and then leaving at night as he searches for a safe place to sleep.
Gordon's strange — and quintessentially L.A. — odyssey started when he found he couldn't afford an apartment and came to realize a home was whatever you can squeeze into.
A studio. An accessory dwelling unit. A camper.
Gordon bought an ambulance.
Emblazoned with bright red paint, his boxy service vehicle has found a new purpose after being decommissioned. Storage shelves once lined with trauma kits now hold cooking utensils. The bench has been turned into a bed. So, if you see Gordon winding through the city, he's not transporting a victim. He's avoiding a parking ticket.
"It works for my lifestyle," he said. "It has thick walls, [and] good insulation for the weather. I'd rather live for free in my ambulance than pay for a house I can't afford. That's what it actually means to be stuck."
Gordon may actually be one step ahead of stuck, as he plots an uncanny journey from the fringes of Los Angeles to a path to homeownership.
But the path is still littered with obstacles.
Gordon, 30, moved here from Texas in 2018, arriving the way many do: with wide eyes and shallow pockets. He drove out for a songwriting convention in Hollywood and realized it'd be cheaper to sleep in his car than pay for a hotel room.
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