The June 28th Town Hall Forum on Homelessness sponsored by NCVV’s Board of Directors brought together community and city leaders along with over 200 Valley Village stakeholders, to discuss how we can work together to have a positive impact on this humanitarian crisis facing our society.
After brief presentations from each of the panelists outlining their work with the homeless population, the standing room only crowd posed a host of questions to representatives from LAPD and the HOPE Team, the City Attorney’s office, Council District 2, the California Highway Patrol and LA Family Housing. There wasn’t sufficient time to answer all of the questions stakeholders submitted, and during the meeting NCVV committed to respond to the remaining questions and post the information on our website by the end of July.
“This was an important first step for us to begin working as a community to effect positive change” said Suzanne Lewis-Gregory, NCVV Board member. NCVV will move forward to establish an ad hoc committee composed of board members and stakeholders who will begin working within Valley Village to address the issues of homelessness.
Some of the topics of concern raised at the Town Hall forum included:
- The use of voter approved Measure HH and HHH funds
- Local support services that are available in Valley Village to assist the homeless
- Programs underway to prevent individuals from becoming homeless
- RV parking and use of RVs as a residence under LAMC 8502
- How to access help from the HOPE Team
- Contacting our Senior Lead officer and other LAPD resources to report problems
- The role of the CA Highway Patrol and how it differs from LAPD
With the wealth of information provided by the panelists came an even greater understanding of the scope and scale of the problems we face. The overall conversation reminded those present that this crisis did not materialize overnight and it will not go away in the near future. Solutions will demand patience, commitment, and a willingness to engage.
Special thanks to our guest panelists Todd Gilman and Nicole Carcel from the office of LA’s City Attorney; Officer Daniel Harty from LAPD’s HOPE Team; Acting Senior Lead Officer Tony Chang; CHP Public Information Officer Leland Tang; Stephanie Klasky-Gamer from LA Family Housing; and Jessica Fugate from the Office of Councilman Paul Krekorian.
The next meeting of NCVV’s Board of Directors is July 25, 2018. We hope you will join us as we work to improve the quality of life or all stakeholders in Valley Village.