Granada Hills : Psychiatrist to Discuss Help for the Homeless

The medical director of the San Fernando Mental Health Center will discuss ways to deal with homeless people who loiter at or near businesses Wednesday at a San Fernando Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Psychiatrist Alex Kopelowicz, the center’s medical director, recommends reaching out to transients by giving them “Homeless Emergency Help Cards” that list social service agencies, rather than trying to intimidate or act aggressively toward them.

“Remember, the homeless are more likely to be scared of you than the other way around,” Kopelowicz wrote in a paper he read at a recent meeting of the Sepulveda / Van Nuys Boulevard Business Watch.

“It behooves us as a community to become aware of the resources available to these individuals and point them in the direction which can lead them off the streets and back towards productive and satisfying lives,” he wrote.

Kopelowicz will speak at noon Wednesday at the chamber’s luncheon at the Odyssey Restaurant, 15600 Odyssey Drive, Granada Hills. The lunch will cost $13 for chamber members, $15 for others.

For more information, call the San Fernando Chamber of Commerce at (818) 361-1184.