With opposition mounting in Koreatown against a proposed temporary homeless shelter that would be the first in a larger plan for the whole city, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Council President Herb Wesson led a rally Friday of about 150 people outside City Hall to deliver the message that they are not going to let up.
The City Council and Garcetti have worked hard in recent months to project a unified front on homelessness, including on the mayor’s new “A Bridge Home” program that aims to spend at least $20 million in budget money to build temporary shelters and other facilities for the homeless in each council district.
“We must act. We must act now. We must act today,” Wesson told the crowd.
Councilman Paul Krekorian perhaps summed up the message of the rally best by saying, “To those who want to stand in the way: Sorry. It’s coming. We are going to save our neighbors.”
At least five council members attended the rally outside City Hall, which comes after weeks of growing opposition to the proposed Koreatown shelter in Wesson’s district. The shelter near Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue in a city-owned parking lot is just the first shelter to be proposed, but Garcetti’s plan calls for shelters in each of the city’s 15 districts.
At least 9,000 people have signed a petition opposing the Koreatown shelter. Some community leaders have said they support the idea of the shelter, which would house around 100 people, but are against the location. Some have also said the city did not conduct sufficient outreach before Garcetti and Wesson announced the plan a few weeks ago at a news conference.
“This plan is definitely not the answer to resolve the homeless problem in Koreatown. But more importantly, the announcement/decision was made without hearing the true voices of the community residents and those who work in the community,” the petition states.
The “Save a Life” rally was aimed not just at supporting the Koreatown shelter, but supporting the overall plan for temporary shelters proposed by Garcetti. The estimated number of homeless people in Los Angeles last year was 34,189, a 20-percent increase. Results of the 2019 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count conducted in January are expected to be released around the end of the month.
“I understand fear, and we will confront it, we will not dismiss it,” Garcetti told the crowd. “We will have as many meetings as it takes. But we know the solution, and it is here, next to you on your left, next to you on your right, in front of you, behind you. It’s time for us all to come home.”