Funding for Shelter Falling Short
One thankful beneficiary called it the “saving grace” of homeless people in Los Angeles County. For 17 years, People Assisting the Homeless has lifted willing transients from life on the street with a network of shelters, job counselors and financial advisors.
But managers of the nonprofit program said they could help even more of the about 236,000 people who go homeless in Los Angeles County at some time each year if they could just find the money to open a new 100-bed shelter and multi-service center in Hollywood.
To open all of the center’s programs by December, PATH directors said they need to raise $3 million to complete payment on the new $7.7-million facility.
That would allow the agency to move most of its employees from seven other crowded, makeshift centers and to close a run-down facility in nearby West Hollywood. That shelter is too cramped for its 65 residents. The paint is chipping. Light fixtures are dim and tracks of dirt stain the tiled floors.
If it can’t find the additional money, the organization will not be able to open some of the Hollywood center’s services, including beds for women and their children, a children’s study center, and a library and lounge.
“We’re so close,” said Joel Roberts, executive director. “But our joy is bittersweet.”
PATH directors have lobbied for money from state and local agencies for three years, while also begging celebrities for contributions. Advice columnist Abigail Van Buren gave money for a women’s library. Jackie Autry, the late cowboy star’s Gene Autry’s wife, donated $250,000, and a few studio executives and movie producers also chipped in. In the meantime, design and construction crews began working on the structure. Roberts said PATH officials assumed the money would come in eventually.
The organization had been counting on undistributed state, county and city grants. But with more than 300 agencies asking for money, and the energy crisis sapping much of the state’s discretionary budget, PATH officials aren’t sure what they’ll get.
According to Shelter Partnership Inc., an organization that works as a liaison between shelters and funding agencies, about 30 groups including PATH are fighting for money from the state’s Emergency Housing Assistance Program.
But, because of energy-related budget concerns, nobody knows how much money will be allocated. A decision about the state money should be made within the next two weeks, said Gail Slevin, a project manager with Shelter Partnership.
“To operate successfully, an organization needs a good chunk of private funds and a good chunk of government funds,” Slevin said. “Without both, it’s hard.”
The new regional center would be the biggest of its kind in California. It would offer services ranging from job training to substance abuse counseling to beauty advice, all under one roof. While 100 homeless people would sleep at the center, hundreds more would visit each day, with total service for as many as 10,000 a year. Special care would be given to HIV-positive and disabled residents.
The center’s bright colors and neon lights are a marked contrast to the white walls and sterile environments found at other shelters. Curved walls, swooping ceilings and pillars help create a storefront feel for each of the separate work spaces.
“It’s the kind of place you or I wouldn’t mind living at,” Roberts said, looking out of a window on the building’s north side, a sweeping view of the Hollywood sign and the Ventura Freeway.
The center’s 100 beds are just a drop in the bucket when added to the city’s total. With up to 84,000 homeless people per night, the county’s 13,632 beds serve only a fraction of those in need. It’s the center’s future one-stop-service approach that excites local homeless advocates.
Instead of doling out thousands of dollars in bus tokens and cab fare, PATH employees will be able to send a program participant in need of health care or legal advice down the hall.
“Everything they need is under one roof,” said Terry Bird, a Los Angeles attorney and PATH board of directors chairman. “It’s a project the city and state should be supporting with enthusiasm.”
Less than five miles from the construction site, Metinah Salaam prepares to graduate from the program at one of PATH’s shelters. A college graduate from Texas, Salaam found herself jobless and broke six months ago. She’d been laid off from a telemarketing job and living in downtown hotels.
Today, Salaam, in middle age, wears her hair in silver ribbon and butterfly barrettes. She’s passed state requirements to become a teacher and has saved $2,500. She doesn’t allow herself many luxuries--PATH taught her how to save money--but someday, she hopes to buy a house and take a beach vacation. “Someplace I can wear a bikini,” she said.
Until then, the job Salaam got with the Los Angeles Unified School District to teach junior high or high school will keep her busy.
“This center woke me up,” she said. “The people here taught me how to take control of my life. It saved me. . . . I can’t even imagine how many more lives this program will touch.”
