City awards grant to address homelessness

Nonprofit Harbor House receives $10K



MAKING CONNECTIONS—Harbor House is operating (by appointment only) out of this building on E. Avenida de Los Arboles. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

MAKING CONNECTIONS—Harbor House is operating (by appointment only) out of this building on E. Avenida de Los Arboles. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

A brand-new social services agency serving the very poor in Thousand Oaks is the recipient of a $10,000 grant from the city as part of its ongoing efforts to address homelessness in the community.

The City Council voted at its April 23 meeting to give the cash infusion to the nonprofit Harbor House, headed by Denise Cortes, former Ventura County area director of Lutheran Social Services. The vote came after a report from the council’s ad hoc homeless committee made up of Mayor Rob McCoy and Councilmember Claudia Bill-de la Peña.

“Harbor House is a local organization that will keep your donations locally and will go immediately to rapid housing services and other services they offer,” Bill-de la Peña said. “It’s one step at a time that we can help these individuals get back on their feet.”

The money will come out of the city’s general fund. The city in the past has also provided grants to other organizations that serve the poor, like LSS, Conejo Free Clinic, Manna food bank and Many Mansions.

 

 

The April 23 report was the second of its kind since the committee’s formation in February 2018. Since the last report in October, the county has conducted its annual homeless count, in which 103 homeless people were identified in the city, though the Thousand Oaks Police Department’s count puts the number closer to 280 people, Assistant City Manager Ingrid Hardy said.

Hardy has been tasked with coordinating the city’s multifaceted strategy to address homelessness.

To keep local residents apprised of the progress, the city has created a web page dedicated exclusively to this issue: toaks.org/homeless.

On the page, there are hyperlinks to topics such as “understanding homelessness,” “exploring the city’s role,” “finding local resources” and “homelessness and the law.” There is also a link for reporting concerns.

“Our charge is to serve as a convener, to provide community leadership and develop and implement strategies that link people with resources,” the site says. “We work to enforce local regulations; and to help businesses and residents understand homelessness, their role, ways to contribute, and how law enforcement can help. While the City does not provide direct services, we work closely with local and regional service providers.”

This, too, is a goal of Harbor House, which recently opened its doors at 430 E. Avenida de Los Arboles, Ste. 203A, and sees visitors by appointment only. While it does not provide housing directly to people, it helps connect homeless people to housing and other social services.

Councilmember Al Adam also praised the work being done by the community’s religious institutions in providing year-round meals and overnight shelters during the winter months and asked if there has been movement toward opening church shelters throughout the year.

“Many communities have tried to build homeless shelters and faced tremendous oppositions, to be candid . . .” he said. “To have churches already here and accepted by the community, if they would be willing to open their doors year-round, that seems to be a possible practical solution.”

The question was fielded by McCoy, who also serves as pastor at Godspeak Calvary Chapel.

“There are many churches that want to participate yearround, but we want to make sure we’re all on the same page,” he said. “We’re dealing with misconceptions, trying to see who’s doing what in the city, and we’re getting everyone together in meetings to understand what we’re doing so we can do it in a concerted effort. The answer to your question will come at a later date, but suffice it to say we all want to do the right thing.”

For its next steps, the city will continue to explore longterm options, further develop outreach strategies, distribute anti-panhandling materials and continue to engage and gather input from community partners and businesses.

To help do this, it will convert an existing employee position to that of a homeless liaison to coordinate with social service organizations and others working on the issue.

The city had not yet determined which position would be converted.