Group Moves to Buy Motel as Shelter for Homeless

The Valley Interfaith Council board of directors voted Wednesday to begin negotiations to buy a North Hollywood motel for use as a permanent shelter for the homeless.

Board President Priscilla Thompson said the council has received a $195,000 grant from a state program for the homeless--enough for a down payment on the 77-room Fiesta Motel, 7843 Lankershim Blvd. Asking price for the motel is $2.4 million, Thompson said.

The council has applied for $400,000 in grants from other agencies and is soliciting contributions from business and community interests to use for operating expenses and to refurbish the motel.

“We want to move ahead as rapidly as possible,” she said.

Rabbi Steven Reuben of Temple Judea in Tarzana, appointed chairman of the board’s new management committee for the project for the homeless, estimated that the motel could begin operating as an “ongoing, vital shelter” within three months.

Development of Proposal

He said his committee, which will include business-oriented members, will develop a final proposal for the motel’s purchase, set policy for the shelter and act as liaison between the council board and an on-site management team at the shelter.

The council provided temporary shelter in 25 of the motel’s rooms earlier this year under a $50,000, federally funded program. But those funds ran out in May, and Reuben said the council was forced to look for a more permanent solution to the problem of the homeless.

Thompson said the council at first considered leasing the motel but decided that would be too expensive.

Nancy Bianconi, executive director of Better Valley Services, a primarily city-funded agency, has been named project coordinator and will help Reuben with fund raising. The city is considering granting Bianconi a leave of absence from her regular duties to work on final details of the motel project, Bianconi said.

Reuben said the council, which is comprised of representatives of churches and synagogues throughout the Valley, hopes to provide a more long-range solution to the homeless problem.

“We see the shelter as a transition back into the mainstream of society, not just a stop-gap measure,” Reuben said. Job placement, counseling, health care and other services homeless people need to get back on their feet will be provided, he said.

Worsening Situation Foreseen

Reuben, who last year estimated that there are 5,000 to 10,000 homeless people in the Valley, said he foresees the problem becoming worse.

“Just yesterday, two couples walked into my office looking for help,” he said. “They had spent the previous night under a freeway ramp. The best I could do was give them enough from the temple’s homeless fund for a couple of nights’ stay at a motel.”

Thompson said Wednesday’s board action demonstrates the council’s determination to stand behind an earlier resolution passed by the board to provide housing for the Valley’s homeless.

“There are many details to be completed,” she said. “But all the pieces are beginning to fit together at last. We’re very excited.”