Homeless People

BURBANK — The city’s winter homeless shelter opened Monday, providing cots, showers and hot meals to 31 people on its first night of operation at the Burbank National Guard Armory. Last year, the shelter drew only about 15 people on its first night and almost 150 on its most crowded evening before it closed in mid-March, said Andy Bales, director of the Los Angeles Union Rescue Mission, which runs the program. “Once the word gets out and the weather gets a little worse, we’ll have more people coming in,” Vice Mayor Gary Bric said.

Steven Elliott credits the friends he meets for making life on the streets and in homeless shelters bearable. “You get to meet everybody,” he said. “We become a family.” One of Elliott’s friends who he would commonly see at shelters and free meals died this year. So on Monday evening, he held a candle in his memory. Elliott was one of dozens of people gathered outside the Glendale National Guard Armory on Colorado Street clutching candles to honor the 417 homeless people who have died in the last year.

The number of mental health-related emergency calls has increased significantly in the last two years, police said, prompting a fresh approach for tackling the problem. With the beating death of a mentally ill homeless man by two Fullerton police officers in July still fresh in the minds of the region's police agencies, the upward trend in Burbank of encounters with people with mental health issues is pushing officials to initiate a collective response among local nonprofit and healthcare providers to target familiar faces on the streets.

With regards of using the armory as a homeless shelter (“Burbank holds reins for shelter,” Saturday), it is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in a long time. I cannot believe that this could seriously be even on the agenda to be considered. First of all, the armory is mere feet away from Pacific Park. People use this park from dawn until dark. Pacific Park has a children’s program funded by Park, Recreation and Community Service. It is used for children’s birthday parties, softball, tee-ball, soccer, basketball and tennis.

Cities across our nation are dealing with an increasing number of homeless people. The number will continue to grow — that’s not an invented probability. The financial and economic status of this country is floundering, and as that instability trickles down, it is the poorest of the poor who are most affected. The makeup of the homeless population is ever-changing. It is not merely the disenfranchised of a community, those voiceless nomads shunned by a society that barely makes eye contact.

BURBANK — With winter fast approaching, the City Council on Tuesday night finalized a plan to provide a shelter for the region’s homeless population, similar to the details worked out in 2007. The plan, approved by a 4-1 vote, calls for the shelter to open Dec. 1 and close March 15 and will provide shelter in the city’s National Guard Armory at 3800 W. Valhalla Drive for up to 150 homeless people from around Southern California. “I’m glad to be able to help people out,” Vice Mayor Gary Bric said.

BURBANK — Operators of the winter homeless shelter at the Burbank National Guard Armory are scrambling to find an alternate location capable of housing 50 of their clients during two planned closures of their current site. The Salvation Army of Burbank has agreed to take in up to 50 homeless people during the planned closures Feb. 6 to 8, and again for the same dates in March, but that would cover only half of the average crowd that uses the emergency winter shelter every night, said Carrie Gatlin, vice president of government relations and special project for the Union Rescue Mission of Los Angeles, which oversees the operation.

Claudia Peschiutta BURBANK -- After two years of decline, the number of homeless people in the area is on the rise and the three men hoping to represent the district in the state Senate have various solutions to offer. Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-La Crescenta) supports providing job training through efforts such as CAL-Works, the state's welfare-to-work program, and believes more needs to be done to care for the mentally ill. His Republican opponent for the 21st District seat, South Pasadena City Councilman Paul Zee, considers job training "the ultimate solution."

Burbank Police Sgt. Mike Parrinello envisions himself as the one to help keep homeless people on the path to recovery and off the streets. “We're the go-betweens, since we have contact with them,” Parrinello said. “We're coordinating between officers, resources and whatever organizations will help.” The program models are still being tested and put together, but Parrinello is part of a budding effort at the Burbank Police Department to take a more proactive approach in reducing the number of transients on city streets.

Even with the number of winter shelter beds available to the homeless in Burbank drastically reduced this year, city officials say the end result could be better since the quality of services will be higher. That viewpoint is getting mixed reviews from those who work with that community, however. In deciding to leave the Los Angeles County-funded winter shelter program this year and go it alone, Glendale - which serves homeless clients in Burbank - will offer just 50 beds, down from about 150 last year.

The number of mental health-related emergency calls has increased significantly in the last two years, police said, prompting a fresh approach for tackling the problem. With the beating death of a mentally ill homeless man by two Fullerton police officers in July still fresh in the minds of the region's police agencies, the upward trend in Burbank of encounters with people with mental health issues is pushing officials to initiate a collective response among local nonprofit and healthcare providers to target familiar faces on the streets.

Nearly 40% of the homeless population in North Hollywood and Sun Valley are at risk of premature death, according to a survey completed this week. Of the 271 people surveyed, 106 were found to have health conditions associated with a high mortality risk, said organizers from the San Fernando Valley Homeless Coalition, a network of service providers. About 60 volunteers took part in the effort, fanning out in the early morning hours Monday through Wednesday to interview people living on the streets and in shelters about their health status, institutional history, length of homelessness and other issues.

Yes, Burbank has a homeless population. And this week, the city took concrete steps to allow organizations to step in and address the problem. The Planning Board endorsed changes to the code that would make it easier for organizations to set up homeless shelters in mostly industrial-commercial areas of the city by cutting the red tape that has so far made those efforts a nonstarter. That’s been a problem in more ways than one. For starters, making it nearly impossible to get the zoning permits needed for such an operation violates state law. And the city hasn’t been doing the community any favors erecting a high hurdle because, despite what some may like to think, Burbank has largely unmet need when it comes to sheltering the homeless.

The Planning Board this week approved changes to the city code that would make it easier for organizations to establish emergency homeless shelters after officials determined the excessive red tape violated state law. In 2008, the state began requiring all cities to designate at least one zone where emergency shelters must be allowed to operate year round without any additional permits outside of certain local standards, such as security. Burbank allows “rescue missions” only in certain areas of the city, and has hosted the Los Angeles County regional winter homeless shelter in 2007 and 2008 — much to the chagrin of some residents who complained about unruly transients.

I share L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich's joy at the placement of 1,200 homeless dogs over the past several years ("Political Landscape: Antonovich stands up for furry friends," Nov. 11). I hope he can do the same for homeless people, especially our veterans. One rapid re-housing solution is to use the hundreds of properties owned by the California Department of Transportation that were originally acquired for the now-defunct Long Beach (710) Freeway extension surface route.

Steven Elliott credits the friends he meets for making life on the streets and in homeless shelters bearable. “You get to meet everybody,” he said. “We become a family.” One of Elliott’s friends who he would commonly see at shelters and free meals died this year. So on Monday evening, he held a candle in his memory. Elliott was one of dozens of people gathered outside the Glendale National Guard Armory on Colorado Street clutching candles to honor the 417 homeless people who have died in the last year.

Lynn McGinnis (“Schiff never got around to the tab,” Aug. 15) is concerned how Congress expects to pay an approximately $1-trillion cost for the first 10 years for a health plan covering Americans; this topic related to meeting of Rep. Adam Schiff on health care for Americans. I’m also concerned on how we’ve financed a more than $1-trillion war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003. And, also lost about 4,500 American soldiers. Don’t forget billions to Wall Street and banks.