By Bill Hendrickson
City Councilmember Kevin de León broke ground on Wednesday on a 48-unit pallet shelter community for the homeless in Eagle Rock. De León was joined by city agency officials, community leaders and advocates for the homeless, who took turns at the podium to talk about their aims for the site, namely, to provide the homeless in Eagle Rock with temporary shelter and social services to help them transition to permanent housing.
De León thanked the Eagle Rock community for its support of the pallet shelters, also known as tiny homes villages, singling out the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council (ERNC) and local volunteers for the homeless. Richard Loew, president of the ERNC and Jane Demian, the organizer and leader of a team of volunteers for the unhoused in Eagle Rock, were on the dais in recognition of their efforts.
De León also noted the opposition to tiny homes in Eagle Rock, where an effort to recall him is underway due largely to his efforts to establish the tiny homes. “Doing nothing will only result in homelessness getting worse,” he said, in remarks aimed at those who object to the tiny homes.
The tiny homes site in Eagle Rock will be located on Figueroa Street in the overflow parking lot for the Eagle Rock Recreation Center, across from the park near the on- and off-ramps of the 134 Freeway. It will be the second tiny homes village in Northeast L.A.’s Council District 14. A 115-unit tiny homes village in Highland Park broke ground in June and will take in its first group of residents in mid-October. The Highland Park tiny homes village is located on an unused stretch of Arroyo Seco Drive adjacent to the 110 Freeway.
Each tiny home measures 64 square-feet and includes fold down beds, HVAC, shelves, windows and a locking door. The shelter site includes facilities for showers, sanitation, laundry and storage, as well as on-site services, including meals, security and social services.
The Eagle Rock site will be operated by the nonprofit Union Station Homeless Services. At the groundbreaking, Ann Miskey, president of Union Station Homeless Services, said that based on the organization’s experience, 97% of individuals who enter the tiny homes will never be homeless again.
City agency officials at the groundbreaking spoke about the collaboration involved in getting to this point, noting that the Department of Recreation and Parks, the Bureau of Engineering, the Los Angeles Fire Department, the L.A. City Council and other entities came together under De León’s leadership to establish tiny homes in Eagle Rock.
“When you get all these different entities together, it usually doesn’t happen,” said Gary Lee More, the city engineer for L.A. in the Department of Engineering. Michael Shull, general manager of the Department of Recreation and Parks said the project came together because the individuals and agencies involved took an “all hands on deck” approach.
The tiny homes village in Eagle Rock, expected to open by year-end, is one small part of De León’s broader plan to establish 25,000 new housing units for the unhoused by 2025.
“We are accepting our responsibility and the moral imperative to act,” said De León. “That’s what the Eagle Rock tiny homes village is about – creating community solutions for homelessness.”
Bill Hendrickson, MBA, publisher of the Boulevard Sentinel, has extensive small business management, marketing and sales experience in corporate finance and real estate development and plays a not terrible game of golf.
I am delighted to see that parking lot turned into tiny homes! We need so much more of this kind of bridge housing. Let’s get people out of tents on our sidewalks! Sign me, 30 year Eagle Rock resident
Thank you for your positive outlook! This is such a wonderful step for our community
Do you just follow this guy around? Isn’t there a rule that it can’t b within a certain amount of feet from a public park.
N what’s with all the red no parking on Colorado. All ready given in 2 metro? De Leon all ready sealed the deal so y have the meetings on it. What a patsy. Next will b some senator coming in and saying do this the money is needed. Hello huizar the second
There have been so many meetings and info sessions about this project. Your concerns were addressed at many of them. Please contact CD14, Union Station Homeless Services, Selah, or google the Tiny Homes projects to learn what answers have been given.
I salute the volunteer efforts of our Eagle Rock leaders, Jane Damian and Richard Loew for their efforts to provide bridge/transitional housing for the homeless in our area. Bravo!
Absolutely! Volunteers including Jane and Richard and many others have been such a powerful driving force in ensuring this project was implemented
For everyone who’s for this, how about housing these homeless criminals on your property. I can’t believe my tax dollars are being used for this obscenity. Wake up! Most of these homeless people are tweakers. Think of all the new crimes happening in Eagle Rock, it’s them. How about giving the kids at Garvanza Skate Park a bathroom to use. There’s been numerous times that I’ve been skating there with my daughter and had to pack up and go home because there’s no bathroom there. Just like every sport you need to hydrate and guess what sooner or later you’ll need to urinate. Thanks Kevin De Leon for closing down Garvanza! Your a genius. Never getting my vote! You’d be the next Huizar. No Thanks!!!
Thank Kevin delon for thinking of these fortunate. This is a step forward in the correct direction. Any one who is critizing this project try to be homeless for one day.
This is all a bad joke on Eagle Rock residents. It’s a joke that this administration pretends to listen to all the residents. From bike lanes, metro, and now tiny homes, it’s all a farce. Everything they want to do is already decided. The only choices they give us is bad, and worse. They’re not interested in what we want, only what they can cram down our throats. They have no interest in how this construction on Colorado Blvd will negatively impact small businesses. The groups supporting metro just happen to have business ties to metro. Co-incidence? These same groups have gone so far as to change opposition opinions in print, claiming that those opposing have changed their minds. It’s way past time that these career politicians are reminded that they are SUPPOSED to work for all of us, not just the “donors” to their war chests. They were voted in, they must be voted OUT !
Safe housing for the homeless is severely needed, however, it seems to me, placement of structures between a freeway on-ramp and off-ramp, and on a busy street, is less than ideal. I can’t imagine the amount of noise and fumes from vehicles is healthful.
Just wait, 5 years from now the city will be inundated will lawsuits from this group for getting cancer from exposure to pollution and exhaust fumes
Soo true! Cough but I get the idea that’s intentional. They know exactly what there doing. Make crazy crazier
Is this project going to house the tent community who live under the bridge on Figueroa next the 134 freeway entrance?
I’m so appreciative of the project. I myself and Residentially Challenged and am on the list for the Eagle Rock Tiny Homes. I feel this is a beneficial community involved solution to help out within ourselves to start solving California’s Homeless and displaced community members. The positive out driven and reasonably structured process give residentially challenged people resources to re-enter the community social classes and economic structure. The confidence boosting /self-esteem to get acclimated to the routine of daily 9am/5pm Business hours daily activities like employment searching obtaining identification, mailing address daily errands medical appointments. On the individual and personal basics. I feel the Tiny Home Candidates will be able to identify address and resolve some of the social stigmas we face daily because of being labeled as non productive and stagnant by our fellow community residents. Can’t wait to start living again….. Not just be alive…
Greatly appreciated/
Sincerely,
Arrianna Downing
Hahaha ah seriously do these ridiculous micro doghouses “I’ve seen dog house bigger then this” have Air-conditioning for the 117 degree weather that’s coming?
I noticed there’s NO SHADE, NOT EVEN A TREE! It looks more like a Nazi Concentration Camp with pretty colors. This is less than Human this is a Public Embarrassment for the Already mental I’ll Homeless! You profit Greedy corporate scum should live in those even just for a day!
EVIL has a new name it’s called OBEY!
Errrr