CA- Rescue mission seeks aid

In light of the Michigan case of Thomas Pauli, who froze to death because of, being denied entry or would have been denied entry (depending on who one believes), to one of the available missions because of his status as a RSO, follow closely how Missons in California handle that circumstance. Read carefully, the article is difficult in places.

2-2-2009 California:

Chief executive of group that runs the winter homeless shelter likens the current climate to the Great Depression.

BURBANK — The Union Rescue Mission that runs the winter homeless shelter at the Burbank Armory plans to appeal to city and state officials soon for increased shelter aid, expecting a Depression-scale increase in homelessness.

“We’ve been speaking out to public officials, but I don’t think anybody is quite ready to see the gravity of this,” said Andy Bales, chief executive of the Union Rescue Mission, which runs a number of shelters in the Greater Los Angeles area. “We need to take emergency steps for the number of people that are going to be coming our way because of foreclosures and job loss.

“This is alarming, and I’ve been working with the homeless for 23 years. It’s getting a little Depression-like.”

California’s unemployment rate is now at 9.3%, according to the Employment Development Department. California ranked among the states hit hardest by America’s 81% foreclosure increase between 2007 and 2008, according to the real estate database Realty Trac.

“I wish there was a way the armory shelter could stay open all year,” Bales said. “We see people pulling up for homeless aid in nice cars after just having their homes foreclosed on.”

The winter shelter will finish its second year at the armory March 15. The residents surrounding the armory and Pacific Park have been speaking to the City Council about their concerns that this would become a permanent arrangement for future winters.

The most recent round of complaints Tuesday came after a sex offender did not show up in the shelter’s screening process and was discovered when he went to register his location with the police.

Resident Brian Blevins said he has seen homeless people panhandling, urinating in public and sleeping outside in his neighborhood — which contains a baseball field, an elementary school and a nursery school — when they are supposed to be confined to the shelter.

“I think the security is incredibly lax, unlike the way it was told to us before they opened it this year,” Blevins said. “We’re still waiting for the reports on this year’s shelter to be made public. I don’t think the shelter should continue this way next year. If they do it next winter, they should focus on families and single mothers.”

Another resident, Armando Perez, was concerned the shelter’s presence would ruin the neighborhood’s real estate value.

“This is a cancer, and if we’re not careful, it will spread to the lymph nodes,” Perez told the council.

The shelter has seen many more economically troubled families this year as opposed to the chronically homeless, said Sgt. Thor Merich, a Burbank Police Department liaison with the winter shelter.

“There’s often a reason people are homeless, mostly because of drugs, alcoholism or mental problems,” Merich said. “But this year especially, people are being driven into homelessness suddenly and for the first time. People who are down and out from the economy are not the types likely to break the law.”

The homeless who apply for space at the shelter have their names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and previous residency screened before being taken on buses into the armory. Along with security to keep them from wandering the neighborhood, this screening is to make sure they are not on the Megan’s Law or any other sex offender registry databases, said Carrie Gatlin, spokeswoman for the Union Rescue Mission.

“The man mentioned in the City Council meeting registered in four days in accordance with his 30 days Megan’s Law deadline, so he was referred out to another shelter we operate where they don’t have women and children concerns in the shelter or in the neighborhood,” Gatlin said. “We always work with the homeless to find them a place to sleep and keep them off the streets. The police say we’re doing all the right things in screening them, aside from having access to the police database. We missed that sex offender because we couldn’t find him under his previous location.”

Compared with last year, there have been fewer calls for police support to the neighborhood around the shelter, Merich said.

“It’s understandable for people to have those fears, but the whole thing is mostly perception,” Merich said. “This is something new to Burbank. We are in discussion with the shelter almost daily about their security. To our knowledge, nobody has showed at the shelter trying to fool the system. We may find after we are done reviewing this season that somebody has snuck in and fooled it, but we’re doing multiple check processes almost nightly.”

Given the concerns of the neighborhood, Councilman David Gordon thinks there could be a more appropriate place for the winter shelter next year.

“The neighborhood has these fears that are starting to take place,” Gordon said.

“I want to help those in need, but even with everyone trying their best to make it work, it doesn’t seem compatible with the neighborhood around it.”

The Burbank Armory becomes unavailable when the National Guard holds training there, but it also has the space, bathroom and kitchen facilities an effective shelter needs.

“For the winter shelter, we really don’t have much choice on location besides the armory,” said Burbank Mayor Dave Golonski. “I’ve heard the concerns of that neighborhood pretty loud. In order to sell their homes, people have to disclose that there is a shelter there part of the year, which could hurt their property value.” ..News Source.. by Tom Risen