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.

...continued

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.