On Wednesday, January 26, my staff and I saw some misinformation about a potential homeless project for families in Woodland Hills and I want to share what exactly is going on. 

This week the LA County Board of Supervisors voted to send a list of 19 sites from throughout the region to the state for potential funding with the goal of converting those locations into homeless housing. One of those 19 sites is the 818 Hotel (on Ventura Blvd. off of Winnetka Ave.). Recently, when they confirmed this plan to my staff and I, I successfully got them, and the pending service provider Hope of the Valley, to agree that this site would serve families. This is a key component for me as over 17,000 LAUSD students experience homeless and there are very few locations where families can live together and get the services they need. 

Supervisor Kuehl’s staff told me that they will know if funding is approved by the middle of March. So right now, all that has been done is the County submitted a list of sites to the state requesting funds to convert them to permanent housing. I got the parties to agree that this would be for families, and we’ll know if funding is approved in a few months. I’m incredibly heartened by the fact that the County is partnering with Hope of the Valley on this, as they has been an incredible partner in other efforts in CD3 to get folks off the street. 

Tonight, I’ll be talking with the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization about a variety of issues and the County’s plan will be one of them. Both Supervisor Kuehl and our friends at Hope of the Valley have told us that they will soon be scheduling open houses in our community to further discuss this idea.