The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 108, No. 35 - August 29, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................8
Classifieds............................6
Community Briefs...............2
Crossword/Sudoku.............6
Entertainment......................8
Legals....................................7
Obituaries.............................2
Real Estate.......................4-5
School Spotlight..................3
Sports....................................3
Weekend
Forecast
Ready to Start the New Season
The Eagles are looking to return to the CIF playoffs led by their captains. From left #1 James Fraelich, #67 Justin Delgado, #44 David Madrid, #18 Jackson Ross, #3 Nick Villa, #13 Scott Melton, #2 Arman
Sayson and #77 Gerardo Blanco. Photo by Gregg McMullin.
El Segundo Continues to Step Up
Efforts to Address Homelessness
By Brian Simon
A little over a year ago, the El Segundo City
Council adopted the community’s first plan to
address homelessness. Using grant monies from
Los Angeles County, the City of El Segundo
retained housing consultant Lois Starr to create
the plan. Recently, El Segundo Police Lieutenant
Dan Kim provided an update of the plan and
a report on the latest homeless count.
According to the most recent data, there
were 19 homeless individuals within the local
community in 2019. However, a separate,
independent police count put the total at 15.
That goes to show that this is a fluid amount,
which El Segundo Councilmember Don Brann
referred to as a “snapshot in time.” And while
less than 20 homeless people in an entire town
doesn’t seem like very much, new El Segundo
City Manager Scott Mitnick warned against
complacency. He cited the case of Yuba City
(where he worked in the late 1990s) and reported
a substantial rise in homelessness there during
his tenure. “It consumed our time,” he said of
the attention to the problem. Mitnick spoke of
the need to take preemptive measures to “stay
ahead of the curve” or else the numbers could
“flip overnight” and grow exponentially -- even
in El Segundo.
A look at El Segundo’s homeless statistics
over the past four years indicates no significant
spikes that would spur panic. The counts ran
20 people in 2016, 25 in 2017 and 14 in 2018
before the 19 reported in 2019. But the overall
homeless problem in Los Angeles County
had reached enough of an epidemic proportion
to spur voters to approve a $1.2 billion
bond to build housing. With that in mind, El
Segundo’s strategy in tackling its own homeless
demographic is to identify what the City
can do, what resources are available and what
resources will still be needed.
The local plan features seven goals. The first
is to ensure resident safety and wellbeing by
supporting the police and fire departments as
well as City staff in responding appropriately,
safely and effectively to persons experiencing
homelessness in El Segundo. The second is to
help residents and businesses respond safely
and effectively to individuals who are homeless
here.
The third goal entails sharing responsibility
for addressing homelessness with neighboring
cities in order to expand permanent solutions
to homelessness. That, Kim noted, involves
getting homeless people off the streets and
into shelters. While there has been some success
in that area, it’s not at all an easy thing
to accomplish. “There are a number of people
we do get off the streets,” Kim said, pointing
out that his department helped 14 individuals
do just that and in the process made a positive
impact on those lives. But he also added a
disclaimer. “Many more we approached didn’t
want our help.” Among the primary reasons for
declining assistance, the individuals in question
simply don’t trust the police or government in
general. It could take numerous attempts at
direct contact and lengthy periods of time to
develop enough of a rapport where someone
finally agrees to accept the help.
The fourth goal of the plan is to support
faith groups to effectively help individuals
experiencing homelessness in town. On a
related note, the fifth goal looks to reduce
homelessness among El Segundo residents.
One key way is to recognize when a person
or family is teetering on the edge of becoming
homeless. One local church established a
food drive to help El Segundo residents on
the verge of homelessness. Citizens in town
can make a difference by contributing to that
cause. Another newer approach discussed is to
engage school resource officers and teachers
to be on the lookout for students who may
be homeless when the latter might otherwise
go undetected.
The sixth goal is to improve City responses to
homelessness by obtaining additional resources
to address the issue in El Segundo and creating
efficiencies in the use of current resources.
The final goal is to support the availability of
regional housing opportunities in the South Bay
for populations at risk of homelessness. But, as
Kim reminded, “finding housing is difficult.”
In El Segundo, local police recently implemented
a beach patrol detail to address homeless
beach camping. The project includes utilization
of more sand-accessible vehicles that can get
closer to those living along the shore.
When attempting to communicate with
homeless individuals, the main objective is
to get them off the streets or the beach and
into safe shelter. El Segundo Mayor Pro Tem
Carol Pirsztuk emphasized that putting forth
the right messaging is absolutely key, with a
clear-cut statement that the ultimate goal is to
help these people –not to arrest them. As part
of the ongoing effort, the police department
staffs two dedicated officers for homeless
outreach efforts. El Segundo also continues to
collaborate with surrounding jurisdictions to
address homelessness and additionally utilizes
the services of a clinician from the Department
See Homelessness, page 8
Friday
Sunny
78˚/67˚
Saturday
Sunny
76˚/66˚
Sunday
Sunny
79˚/68˚