Norwalk rejects Newsom’s office, LA County; advertises history of homeless outreach work – San Gabriel Valley Tribune

It’s been more than a month since Gov. Gavin Newsom placed the city Norwalk in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

As part of efforts to get local municipalities to provide more housing and address the homelessness crisis, Newsom cited examples from Norwalk and other cities that the state said have not done enough or hindered progress.

Since the first City Council meeting after the governor’s comments, Norwalk has been on a campaign to defend its image and refute accusations that the city is heartless and not committed to change.

“I don’t think he really knows or has the full picture of everything that the city of Norwalk has done, everything that we plan to do,” Norwalk Mayor Margarita Rios said.

In August, Norwalk passed a moratorium on new homeless shelters and transitional housing. This in response to LA County Opening Attempt an interim housing program at a local motel. Newsom’s first statement on the moratorium came on Sept. 16, a day before the city voted to extend the moratorium for another 10 months.

At the Sept. 17 City Council meeting, a video highlighting the city’s homeless outreach team, the Homeless Operation Prevention and Engagement (HOPE) team, was played during the city manager’s comments.

Following the expansion, a series of warnings and warnings from Newsom culminated in Norwalk complying with the state’s provisions. the housing element law being revoked by the Department of Housing and Community Development.

Newsom once again mentioned Norwalk and Huntington Beach this week during a news conference where he announced that $380 million in state money will go to the Los Angeles region to address homelessness.

Huntington Beach lost the appeal this week in federal appeals court to reinstate the city’s lawsuit against the state. Huntington Beach has refused to plan more housing.

Speaking in her office at City Hall on Oct. 21, Rios remained adamant that Norwalk would not back down from pressure from the county or the state. She said she didn’t expect Newsom to weigh in on Norwalk’s moratorium.

She said state officials met with the city this month and plan to meet again.

“At the last meeting, unfortunately, I felt like they didn’t care about what we’ve done in the past and that’s not great because we’ve worked so hard and invested so much of our money and it’s been successful. .I don’t like that they rejected what the city of Norwalk did to address the homeless population,” Rios said.

When reached for comment on any new efforts to get the city into compliance, a spokesman for the governor’s office said there were no new updates.

Part of the city’s thought process in adopting the moratorium on blocking the county’s Pathway Home interim housing project was born out of previous experience with county housing programs. Specifically, Rios mentioned Project Roomkey in 2020, which also took over the Saddleback Hotel.

Rios called the 2020 project a fluke, and the proposal for Pathway Home didn’t do enough to convince the city that Pathway wouldn’t be a repeat of 2020.

“There were a lot of questions that weren’t answered or there weren’t answers, and so there was a lot of hesitance to go down that road again because we found out the first time that it didn’t work,” Rios said.

A key part of Norwalk’s defense was highlighting the Department of Social Services. Rios and city staff said the department is unique in Southern California and has proven that Norwalk has been on the path to serving the community’s most vulnerable for decades.

One Monday morning last month, the department hosted seniors for lunch as part of its senior nutrition program. It is one of the many programs that social services offer. Social worker Miguel Ochoa, a Norwalk native, went through a food pantry that serves the homeless and anyone in the city who needs a meal or support.

Ochoa said having its own department gives Norwalk residents something unique to other cities that rely solely on the county.

“They’re getting an influx of people, so they’re trying to get people in and out, and they’re trying to get their services as quickly as possible,” Ochoa said. “So do we, but we also have the time to really connect with the individual and, like I said, bring that human aspect to them.”

Sgt. Jordan Warren is one of eight members of Norwalk’s HOPE team. Within the city’s public safety division, the team’s primary goal is to reach out to people experiencing homelessness and connect them with whatever resources they need, either at the Department of Social Services or with the nonprofit agencies the city works with. contract.

“Having the HOPE team really alleviates all these 911 calls and reduces the crimes that happen because we’re constantly out there with transients getting them off the street. Helping them get where they need to be.”

Moving forward, Rios said the city is happy to work with the county and state to come up with solutions, but will insist on being part of the conversation.

“In the past, we’ve been subject to mandates and orders and directions from the county and the state that didn’t fit the needs of our city, and that’s the biggest thing,” Rio said. “We live here, we work here, we see what is needed. We have to be part of the solution and we will.”