RV Serves as Mobile Center for Homeless

Jeffrey Farber, director of programs at the nonprofit L.A. Family Housing Corp., has learned well one of the basic tenets of Los Angeles geography.

“The San Fernando Valley is its own community,” he said. “It’s gigantic.”

To better serve the needs of the Valley’s spread-out homeless population, Farber, police and other social service officials have bought a new 34-foot recreation vehicle and outfitted it as a mobile homeless center. On Friday, the vehicle’s operators showed it off to a group of LAPD senior lead officers across the street from the North Hollywood police station.

Police play a key part in the mobile effort, Farber said, because they field a lot of calls regarding trouble with homeless people and they are charged with preserving public safety. Now, they should be able to advise vehicle operators of trouble spots.

“This unit will help people alleviate the crisis they are dealing with and steer them toward the services they need,” Farber said.

The $60,000 vehicle--purchased with city funds--is equipped with medical facilities comparable to those in a small clinic. Nurses will examine patients and test them for ailments including tuberculosis and HIV. There also is space for workers to counsel clients and track available services via computer.

About two dozen people have used the mobile unit in its three weeks of use, officials said. A schedule of stops across the Valley is still being put together.

“The important thing is for us to show [homeless] people that there is a safety risk to them,” Farber said. “But if you’re sleeping under a tree and a 34-foot mobile vehicle pulls up, you’re going to freak. We hope we can reach beyond that.”

Carrie Bronson, an organizer of the mobile effort, said those anxieties about seeking help are why the vehicle exists.

“The ones who go to the church for lunch and then they’re back out on the streets,” she said. “That’s who we want.”