ANGELS FOR THE HOMELESS : Builders Donate Materials, Labor Through HomeAid
“When you’re middle class and a professional with no job or a place to stay, it can be harder than being poor,” said Valerie N., recounting her ordeal as a homeless person. “One feels so helpless . . . and isolated.”
Eighteen months ago Valerie’s world seemed on the verge of collapse.
A bitter custody battle over her 7-year-old son, compounded by the pressures of a full-time job and long-term care of an ill parent, left her physically and emotionally exhausted.
To add to the trauma, she was in a car accident, her mother died and she lost her job. When Valerie, 39, could no longer pay the rent, she and her son moved in with friends--for a week at a time. Eventually, there was no place left to go.
“I got on the phone and began calling various agencies. But it soon became clear that I wasn’t eligible for public assistance. The only option left was to beg for shelter.
“Friendship House in Laguna Beach was the only place I could find that would take me in with my child.”
The shelter provided not only food and a secure place to stay, but helped her regain her self-worth and prepared her to rejoin the mainstream. She has since found a job and rents a small home.
Just as Valerie found her guardian angel in Friendship House, the shelter has its own guardian angels--members of Orange County’s Building Industry Assn., who have donated labor and materials to renovate and expand the old 12-bedroom hotel and to build a new kitchen.
For the past two years, Southland builders have been helping the homeless and needy in the five regions that form the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California (BIA/SC).
Their good works are accomplished through HomeAid--a broad-based nonprofit program that provides emergency shelters or transitional housing for the homeless, and low-cost, permanent housing for low-income people.
Conceived in 1989 by BIA/SC’s Coalition for the Homeless and first implemented by BIA Orange County, HomeAid now involves 2,600 companies owned by builders, architects and industry-related tradespeople in the Southland.
HomeAid is the first effort of its kind in the United States and has become a model for housing groups in Northern California, Nevada, Florida, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
“There are countless vulnerable families living on the brink of homelessness,” said George Lightner, BIA/SC president and chairman of the HomeAid board.
“For many, a single event, like an eviction, an accident or an illness can precipitate it.
“Builders read the papers and watch the news like anyone else, and because shelter is our business and we know how to build safe and cost-effective structures, we feel an obligation to assist,” Lightner said.
“What I appreciate is the ethical statement that is being made by BIA’s HomeAid program,” said the Rev. Jonathan T. Glass, rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and president of the non-denominational St. Mark’s Homeless Shelter, whose facility in Upland is BIA-San Bernardino’s 1991 Adopt-a-Shelter project.
“Builders who make their living from real estate development are dealing primarily with affluent people. On the other side of the spectrum are the people who are being priced out of the majority of such opportunities. BIA’s involvement helps deal with that reality.”
HomeAid tries to address short- and long-term housing needs, according to Judy Lenthall, president of HomeAid.
A former senior housing planner for the city of San Diego, Lenthall helped create almost 2,500 low-income single room occupancy (SRO) residential hotel units during her tenure in that community.
HomeAid is a two-pronged effort, she said.
“The first is our Adopt-a-Shelter commitment by local chapter members and focuses on the rehabilitation, modernization, maintenance or new construction of emergency or transitional housing.
“The second aspect of our program is to help establish affordable housing for low-income renters as a more permanent solution for homelessness.
“We do this either by ourselves or in joint venture with nonprofit agencies or for-profit developers.”
One of HomeAid’s main functions is to coordinate the volunteer team effort of BIA builders, said Mitchell Bradford of Kaufman & Broad, a HomeAid board member.
“This effort is from the heart,” he said. “It’s fulfilling to take a few hours from one’s job to show up at a site, roll up one’s sleeves along with other volunteer builders, electricians, plumbers, carpenters and get a job done for the needy. We wish we could do more.
“The rehabilitation of existing facilities is the first logical step in the kind of assistance builders are able to give. And it’s one where they can see immediate results,” he said.
Bradford added that enthusiasm for the HomeAid program is high, despite the downturn in the building industry and the time-consuming inspection process that make volunteering a heavy decision.
Ideally, Lenthall noted, the thrust of full-scale HomeAid projects should be in private/public partnerships that combine the resources of both sectors.
“Officials from the cities of Long Beach, San Bernardino and of Orange County already have demonstrated this kind of cooperation. Others need to become more aware of how HomeAid can help them fulfill the state’s mandate for affordable housing in their communities,” she said.
HOMEAID’S TRACK RECORD
(Costs indicate HomeAid contributions in cash donations, materials and in-kind services).
ORANGE COUNTY
BIA-Orange County, with 1,150 member companies, was the first chapter to implement the HomeAid program in 1989. Largely spearheaded by Bob Albertson, president of Presley of Southern California, and Bart Hansen of Shawntana Development, HomeAid raised more than $1 million in in-kind services and cash donations in its first year of operation.
“Orange County efforts have resulted in 120 additional shelter beds for homeless men, women and children,” said Mike Lennon, HomeAid’s manager in Orange County and director of public affairs for BIA in that region.
Orange County HomeAid projects:
Thomas House in Garden Grove: renovation of a 20-bed, eight-unit apartment complex for homeless families. Operator: Thomas House; builder captain: Fieldstone Co.; Cost: $125,000.
Interval House in Midway City: renovation of two homes (32-34 persons) serving as a safe house for transitionally homeless battered women and children. Operator: Interval House; builder captain: Kaufman & Broad. Cost: $110,000.
New Vista House in Fullerton: construction and furnishing of three new garages and one apartment for two homeless families. Operator: Fullerton Emergency Services; builder captains: Bramalea California Ltd. and Standard Pacific. Cost: $120,000.
The Don R. Roth Family Center in Orange: construction of three duplexes (45- to 60-bed facility) for homeless families. Operator: El Modena Service Center; builder captains: Presley of Southern California, Shawntana Development and Baldwin Co. Cost: $400,000.
Anchor House in San Clemente: renovation of temporary 12-bed shelter for homeless families. Operator: Episcopal Service Alliance; builder captains: Taylor Woodrow Homes and the Lusk Co. Cost: $150,000.
Huntington Youth Shelter in Huntington Beach: planned construction of an 18-bed facility for homeless youth (ages 11-17) around an existing historical frame house in the Central Park area, for completion in the fall. Operator: Huntington Youth Shelter; builder captains: David Dahl Co., Mola Development and the Koll Co. Cost: $400,000.
Friendship Shelter in Laguna Beach: renovation of an old 12-bedroom hotel. Operator: Friendship Shelter; builder captains: Shea Homes and M.J. Brock & Sons. Cost: 150,000.
The YWCA Second Stage Housing for the Homeless in Santa Ana: construction of four apartments with common kitchen and living room. Operator: YWCA; designers: 30th Street Architects and Leason Pomeroy & Associates; a joint venture with Homeless Foundation of Orange County, counterpart of HomeAid in the commercial and industrial building community. Cost: $30,000 to $40,000.
Precious Life Shelter in Los Alamitos: moving an existing structure (for homeless unwed mothers and their children), renovating it and building a Thrift Shop and large second structure for a total of 36 beds. Operator: Precious Life Shelter; design services: architect Kermit Dorius; builder captain: Southwest Diversified. Cost: $25,000 initial HomeAid cash gift (used to obtain a $70,000 grant from the state of California).
SINGLE ROOM HOUSING:
Santa Ana: 200 units in the city of Santa Ana’s redevelopment area; Shawntana Development in partnership with HomeAid; project awaiting approval.
Huntington Beach: 300 units to be the first new SRO construction in Orange County in many decades, currently before the Planning Commission; HomeAid and Beach Front Development, a joint for-profit venture.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
The homeless problem in the Greater Los Angeles area has become a major challenge for Home-Aid, whose efforts there did not get into full swing until after the merger in 1990 of Greater Los Angeles and Ventura County into one BIA region.
“The number of homeless people in Los Angeles County between July of 1989 and June of 1990 was 114,000 to 183,000,” said Ruth Schwartz, executive director of Shelter Partnership, a nonprofit, Los Angeles-based resource agency for Southland shelters. “This represents a 16.5% increase over the previous fiscal year.
“People have a tendency to envision the homeless as the stereotype street person--dirty, disheveled, mentally ill or as the typical drug and alcohol abuser,” she said. “But there are at least as many homeless people that one cannot immediately identify because they try to hide their homelessness.”
Schwartz noted that in Los Angeles alone, an estimated 150,000 households pay 50% to 90% of their income for rent and are only one personal crisis away from homelessness.
Los Angeles County HomeAid projects:
Restore Shelter in Los Angeles: a 12-bed renewal center for transitionally homeless women who suffer from substance abuse, battery and mental illness; requiring renovation and expansion of bathrooms, laundry and storage facilities. Operator: Restore; HomeAid project coordinator: Carlene Vandervort, Engineering Service Corp.; builder captain: Mick Parker, Watt-Parker Inc. Cost: $30,000.
Sojourn in West Los Angeles: a 17-bed safe house for battered women and children, requiring replacement of stairways, on-site emergency storage shed and a play structure. Status: research for future involvement; building captain: selection pending.
Reno Street Project in Los Angeles: a 47-unit, affordable housing apartment building to be named The Sammy Davis Jr. Home after completion; seismic retrofit, renovation of all units into studio apartments with separate baths. A cooperative effort: HomeAid, the city’s Renter Rehabilitation and Housing Division and the entertainment community which staged a fund-raising benefit; completion: spring 1992. Total cost: $2.2 million.
VENTURA COUNTY
BIA Ventura County, a part of the BIA Greater LA/Ventura County Region, involves builders in 10 cities of that county.
Joseph Bowman of Wilma Pacific is credited with starting HomeAid in that county and meeting with city and county officials to explore possible solutions to existing homeless problems.
“Concerns focused on the western portion of the county and, in particular, the cities of Oxnard and Ventura, coastal areas where transitionally homeless people have located and where many of the county’s social services are based,” said Dee Boysen, a BIA spokesperson.
Anti-growth sentiment and zoning problems account for some of the difficulty in garnering funding and support for HomeAid projects, she said.
Ventura County HomeAid projects:
Safe House in Ventura: completion of a shelter for homeless battered women and children; renovation of the kitchen and bathrooms, ceilings, all new appliances, and flooring and paint. Operator: Coalition Against Household Violence; project captain: Ticor Title Insurance; builder: Meeker Development. Cost: $15,000.
Simi Valley Interface Coalition: renovation of a full-size mobile unit into an office and clothing disbursement center for the homeless and needy. Builder captain: Wilma Pacific. Cost: $12,000 to $15,000.
Salvation Army facility: a shelter for homeless families; a two-story addition awaiting final development plan. Builder captain: undetermined. Cost: with assistance from a community development block grant: $200,000.
L.A. COUNTY EAST REGION
BIA’s Los Angeles County East chapter, which covers the area east of downtown to the 605 Freeway and south to Long Beach, is primarily involved in coordinating access for HomeAid to government agencies in the chapter territory and in connecting HomeAid with BIA members interested in partnering with public agencies to build SROs.
“We are also working toward developing housing coalitions interested in increasing housing density to help solve the low-income and affordable housing problems, “ said Pamela Hemann, executive director of BIA’s LACE chapter.
A current focus is the homeless problem in the city of Long Beach, where a major redevelopment effort is under way within the city.
“We are looking for the best ways to deal with the homeless issue and the needs of the working poor and HomeAid is providing some of the expertise,” said Diane McNeel, housing services bureau manager for the city of Long Beach.
SINGLE ROOM HOUSING:
Long Beach: HomeAid is assisting the Long Beach Housing Development Co., a nonprofit entity sponsored by the city of Long Beach, in developing a citywide SRO housing strategy and a draft ordinance that describes the legal parameters of SRO construction.
ANTELOPE VALLEY
“Response from our members in assistance to the homeless has been quite incredible,” said Herb Hirsh, explaining that BIA/Antelope Valley supports the HomeAid concept but conducts its own independent programs because of the chapter’s geographical isolation within the Greater Los Angeles/Ventura County region.
“In soliciting community support, we find it easier to retain our identity as a chapter with all of our volunteer efforts.”
The only shelter facility for the homeless in the Palmdale/Lancaster area was the result of a major community effort led by the 200 members of the BIA Antelope Valley chapter.
It was built from scratch, Hirsh said. The framework was raised in one day by 115 volunteer carpenters and four electrical contractors.
Antelope Valley project:
Lancaster Community Shelter, a 40-bed shelter for the homeless, construction of the facility was the contribution in time, labor and materials by BIA Antelope Valley with land donated by the Lancaster Redevelopment Agency as a private/public sector partnership; operator: Catholic Charities; Cost: $500,000.
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
A report issued last summer by the Comprehensive Homeless Assistance Plan estimated that San Bernardino County has about 2,000 homeless. Figures have since risen considerably, said Kent Paxton, Children’s Network officer for the county agency.
“Actual figures for our homeless population are hard to determine. But at our Redlands shelter, 80% of the homeless served by that facility are young families with children,” Paxton said.
Involvement by the 400-member BIA-Baldy View in San Bernardino County in projects for the homeless and the needy began in 1989.
San Bernardino County projects:
County Mental Health facility in San Bernardino: completion of the wing for children at risk. Operator: San Bernardino County; builders: BIA. Cost: 75,000.
Sports Kids University near Running Springs: refurbishment of 24 structures. Builder captain: Warkentin & Wraight, architects and planners. Cost: $300,000.
St. Mark’s Homeless Shelter in Upland, a shelter for homeless people with children; under construction for rain-damaged unit and other rehabilitation to the fourplex structure; builder captain: Jim Previti; operator: St. Mark’s Homeless Shelter. Cost: $50,000 to $60,000.
School Room: HomeAid volunteers are in the process of reviewing the need for a school room in the county of San Bernardino; project coordinator: First Fund of Children’s Resources. Cost: undetermined.
SINGLE ROOM HOUSING:
San Bernardino: HomeAid under contract to the city of San Bernardino to prepare a revitalization plan for a selected low-income apartment neighborhood and other affordable housing projects.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
“BIA-Riverside County completed two projects under the banner of Builders Charitable Foundation, the precursor to our present HomeAid program,” said Rod Hanway, executive director of BIA-Riverside County.
“HomeAid’s goals are consistent with previous involvement of our BIA region’s 452 builder members involved with assisting public nonprofit agencies,” he added.
“We feel drawn to the plight of the homeless. It’s an area where our expertise can make a significant contribution and we’re committed to at least one project each year.”
“We have about 5,000 to 6,000 homeless people in the county and only 140 available beds,” said Jerry Doyle, manager of the programs division for Riverside County’s Department of Community Action.
Of the total number of homeless in Riverside County, Doyle estimated that 60% are local people and 40% are transitory farm labor workers.
Riverside County projects:
Operation Safe House in Riverside: refurbishment of a short-term shelter for 12 to 15 runaways and street children. Operator: Riverside Operation Safe House of the Riverside County Probation Dept. Cost: $100,000.
Emergency Shelter in Riverside: construction of an Emergency Shelter for homeless men, a project of the city of Riverside within the 200-acre redevelopment area of downtown Riverside; funding from the state of California; project construction manager: BIA members. Cost: $500,000.
Transition House in Coachella Valley: a nonprofit facility for homeless people; rehabilitation or new construction; project under study by HomeAid with funds being provided through city, county, state and federal sources. Cost: undetermined.
