Homeless Shelters Proposed Across The Westside

MARINA DEL REY, CA — Homelessness is rapidly increasing across the Westside and Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Bonin has proposed to add more shelters, including "tiny homes" and "safe camping" sites in areas such as Marina del Rey and Pacific Palisades.

SEE ALSO: 'People Literally Dying On Our Streets' As Homeless Crisis Grows

"To end homelessness and sidewalk encampments, we need more housing, more shelter, and more services. We need all kinds of solutions — and we need them everywhere we can put them," Bonin announced in a statement to residents via email newsletter Saturday.

Additional shelters, including Bridge housing, have been added to the Westside in Venice near Pacific and Sunset Avenue, along with the VA site in West L.A. and on Mitchell Avenue in Mar Vista. Other sites and interim or seasonal housing have been added in the region. The city has also purchased hotel rooms with plans to convert spaces to housing, including the Ramada Inn on Washington Boulevard in Marina del Rey, which is part of Project Roomkey. The Cadillac Hotel in Venice and 9250 Airport Blvd. in Westchester have also been purchased by the city for Project Roomkey. Several emergency shelters have opened in Venice, West Los Angeles and Westchester.

"We have opened safe parking, safe camping, and emergency shelters," Bonin said. "And there is more supportive housing on the way. But it is not enough. Across the state, the city and the district, homelessness is increasing."

Last week Bonin submitted a motion calling on the city to push to end homelessness and sidewalk encampments.

The proposed sites include locations in Pacific Palisades, Mar Vista, Marina Del Rey, Playa del Rey, Venice, Del Rey, Westchester, and West LA. The city also plans to continue supporting projects in Brentwood at the VA campus, which is located on the grounds of the facility and gives unhoused people access to a campground instead of living on the street.

"We are assessing potential temporary sites for single occupancy “tiny homes” or for “safe camping” at county-owned beach lots at Will Rogers Beach in Pacific Palisades, at Dockweiler Beach in Playa Del Rey, next to Fisherman’s Village in Marina Del Rey, and at a vacant and privately owned lot in Del Rey," Bonin said.

"We are also looking a lot owned by Culver City, for a joint Los Angeles-Culver City program," he said. "In addition, we are considering potential “safe camping” programs — which sanction camping with onsite security, sanitation, and services — at parts of Westchester Park and Mar Vista Park. Both locations have a large number of tent campers, and safe camping programs there would earmark a section of the park for the program, returning the rest of the space to general public use."

Permanent supportive housing has been proposed at the following sites:

• 11950 W. Missouri, West Los Angeles
• 2454 S. Barry Ave., West Los Angeles
• 3233 S. Thatcher Ave., Venice
• 8333 Airport Blvd., Westchester
• 720 Rose Ave., Venice
• 2469 Lincoln Blvd., Venice
• Veterans Administration Campus, Brentwood
• Venice Boulevard and Pacific Avenue, Venice
• 12901 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista

Additional supportive housing has also been recently added:

• 11976 Culver Blvd., Del Rey
• 11368 Beach Ave., Del Rey
• 11738 Courtleigh Dr., Del Rey
• 700 Main St., Venice

The plan aims to help eliminate encampments along the boardwalk area and focus on outreach. It also adds additional proposed safe RV parking at a county-owned RV park at Dockweiler Beach, 12001 Vista Del Mary in Playa Del Rey.

Bonin also wants to add more living options for unhoused people near LAX.

"I am asking the city to work with Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) to identify and fund an airport-owned site the city can use, pending FAA approval, for safe parking, or tiny homes; to evaluate and identify funding for a temporary shelter for homeless women in vacant space adjacent to my office inside the West LA Municipal Building on Corinth Avenue, and to work with my office and willing potential sellers to purchase more hotels or motels with additional Project Homekey funds that may become available July 1, 2021," he said. "Finally, I’m instructing the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles to work with my office and willing property owners to enter into master lease agreements for hotel rooms or apartment units to be used for homeless housing."

Homeless encampments have led to unsafe living conditions throughout the pandemic — and before — for both housed and unhoused people on the Westside. A string of fires at the boardwalk in Venice, in alleys and behind homes, at Penmar Golf Course, and most recently at the Ballona Wetlands, has led residents to ask leaders for help.

"The status quo on our streets is unacceptable and I am fighting to put quick, sensible, and cost-effective solutions into place as soon as possible so people can get out of sidewalk encampments and on the pathway to permanent housing," Bonin said.

Venice resident Alexander Poe has called on Bonin and other leaders to help improve the safety conditions in the area.

"We are hurt and scared to leave our houses," Poe said. "If you can house people house them, if you cannot then you at least need some way to make the conditions here safe for them and for us, right now it is not safe for anyone."

Residents shared their thoughts and reactions to the news via Twitter:

Big changes could be coming to the Westside with more temporary homeless housing and shelters to help stop homeless encampments. What do you think about the proposal? https://t.co/tR4LxZlPYg
— Nicole Charky (@NicoleCharky) April 5, 2021

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