For the past several months, volunteers and community members arriving at the Mi SELA youth center in the city of Bell have encountered a putrid smell. <\/p>\n
The source? Bags of discarded dog feces.<\/p>\n
The center is a partnership between the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Latino Equity Alliance and provides youth clubs, community-building workshops, and cultural and legal resources to the LGBTQ+ community of South Los Angeles. But recently, the center has seen a pattern of dog feces being thrown in front of and onto the awning of the building\u2019s entrance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were over 10 bags. That was the second time that we\u2019ve had to do a full sweep of the awning \u2026 I just worry about, what if it does escalate in the future?\u201d Sanva Lojero, Mi SELA\u2019s programs manager, told<\/a> NBC Los Angeles. \u201cThis is a youth resource center, so we have clients coming in each day and I don\u2019t want them to feel like they\u2019re getting harassed.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear who is throwing the feces \u2014 or why. But given the center serves LGBTQ+ youth, some maintain it\u2019s deliberate, potentially hate-motivated vandalism. <\/p>\n