"Our service area has approximately 400 beds for 5,000 people designated as homeless. Los Angeles county has 60,000 people without housing. Too many people, too few beds. Where can our neighbors sleep at night? And rebuild their lives during the day?
Contributing Editor Susan Friesen Cameron witnesses the final hours of the Parnell Park encampment and the dispersal of its residents, including the last man standing.
Honestly, having a legally sound ADU ordinance is just the beginning. Whittier should be actively promoting ADUs (e.g. City website, bill inserts, Park and Rec classes), letting people know that building one is an option, making sure fees are reasonable and in line with other cities, making standard plans available and making low-interest loans or other financial help available for construction.
Councilman Bouchot says, “ADUs are a great tool for meeting demand for housing in away that keeps a city’s neighborhood character intact. There are some potential parking impacts to neighborhoods, but the alternative is large development that has even more overt impact on neighborhoods’ aesthetics.”
“We don’t want to be blamed for what we can’t control. We aren’t all just a bunch of drug addicts kicking it at the park camping.”
“Being homeless, you can never really relax. The lack of independence is the hardest part about living in the streets”
On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States declined unanimously to hear an appeal by cities (including Whittier) of Martin v. Boise, a key part of the case law which says that removal of unhoused persons from public land without offering shelter is unconstitutional. This sets a mandate for cities like Whittier to provide housing.