LOS ANGELES—When Brian Ulf says it’s a problem that the weight of homelessness throughout Los Angeles County has landed squarely on the shoulders of a few cities, he should know. Formerly homeless, he used to be part of the problem. Now he’s trying to be part of the solution—but when he looks around Venice Beach in Los Angeles on a bleak winter’s day—at the scattered garbage, littered encampments, and damaged people—it’s hard to be optimistic. “This is a spot where the public doesn’t get protected,” Ulf, 63, told The Epoch Times. “There’s not enough housing … but in the interim of when there’s not housing, what are we doing for this population, while they’re still out here on the street?” Many local residents, who no longer feel safe, are asking the same question. As the homeless population grows amid a lingering COVID-19 pandemic, official efforts to deal with the problems …