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District 6 Community Meeting Spotlights Continuing Homeless Issues

Published on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 | 4:43 am
 
Councilmember Steve Madison (far right) speaks during a District 6 town hall meeting held June 30, 2015. (Photo: Chief Sabchez via Twitter)

Although Pasadena’s homeless count is lower than it ever has been, the continued homeless encampments are still “irksome” to residents and business owners, District 6 City Council Steve Madison said in a town hall meeting on Tuesday.

Hosting a panel of various key city players —Police Chief Phillip Sanchez, Housing Department Project Planner Anne Lansing, Planning Director Vince Bertoni, Pasadena Chief Assistant City Prosecutor Will Rivera and Pasadena’s Economic Development Manager Eric Duyshart — the town hall format allowed each to share their staff’s unique role in homeless solutions and services.

Pasadena is one of the very few jurisdictions in Los Angeles that saw a decrease in homelessness during the last homeless count. The highest number of homeless persons was 1,216 in 2011. This year’s count totaled 632.

“I’d like to know how much time and City resources are spent on this issue of homelessness? Seems to me its come up only in the last 10 to 12 years? Taking a total of resources available, how much do we devote to this one problem?” resident Warren Haussler asked at the meeting.

Haussler was surprised to see that even business and planning departments are involved in the homeless.

“I had the same thought tonight, that I’m impressed we devote substantial resources. It’s by no means one department taking on the entire task,” Madison said. “By any measure this particular one percent of the population is getting a disproportionate amount of any resources, but I think we can all say for understandable reasons, including the impact on the rest of us in terms of the business community and the concerns of the everyday residents.”

The housing department receives about $3 million annually specifically for the issue of homelessness which gets passed down to non-profits in the city who serve this population directly.

“I think President Kennedy said you judge a society based on how well you treat the least of these among us,” Madison said.

Lansing pointed out other city departments groups not represented who also help serve in some capacity the homeless population: Human services, public health department, libraries, and the fire department.

“I think we have 1500 or so homeless in Pasadena and I read LA has 14,000. You would think with the fewer number in Pasadena we could hit it pretty hard and wrap it up pretty quick,” Haussler said.

Chief Sanchez replied to Haussler’s comment.

“I think that’s an important observation to be able to wrap it up and move on quickly. Nothing could be further from the truth. A few years ago the department of defense accurately predicted that 3 in 5 returning veterans will be homeless,” Chief Sanchez said.

A team in the San Gabriel Valley devoted specifically to working with homeless veterans has identified 103 homeless veterans in the past several months and have been able to issue 76 housing vouchers.

Although a person by law cannot be prosecuted simply for being homeless, police can step in if a person is blocking a sidewalk or if the business owner can show a person has been loitering as defined by California penal code statute 602L, which is a misdemeanor.

“We do have a real possibility of ending veteran homelessness in near future for this area,” Lansing said.

One community member suggested repurposing Central Park, where the main encampment is located, into a dog park.

Four times per year each district hosts a town hall meeting to help keep residents informed about their neighborhood and in contact with their city council member.

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