WHWC NC Homelessness Cmte. Teleconference Meeting-Oct 2020

AGENDA- WHWC NC HOMELESSNESS COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, October 13th @ 6:30 p.m.
Virtual Meeting By Teleconference

Virtual Meeting by Teleconferencing and Phone number for Public Participation

In conformity with the Governor’s Executive Order N-29-20 (MARCH 17, 2020) and due to concerns over COVID-19, the Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council meeting will be conducted entirely telephonically.

Every person wishing to address the Neighborhood Council must dial +1 669 900 6833, or logon via Zoom, and enter Zoom ID 938 9924 1002 and then press # to join the meeting. Instructions on how to sign up for public comment will be given to listeners at the start of the meeting. The public is requested to dial *9 (or use the “raise hand” feature, when prompted by the presiding officer, to address the Board on any agenda item before the Board takes an action on an item.

THE AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT – As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services and activities. Sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices and other auxiliary aids and/or services, may be provided upon request. To ensure availability of services, please make your request at least 3 business days (72 hours) prior to the meeting you wish to attend by contacting the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment by email: NCSupport@lacity.org or phone: (213) 978-1551.

PUBLIC ACCESS OF RECORDS – In compliance with Government Code section 54957.5, non-exempt writings that are distributed to a majority or all of the board in advance of a meeting may be viewed on our website at :
www.whcouncil.org or at the scheduled meeting. In addition, if you would like a copy of any record related to an item on the agenda, please contact Joyce Fletcher at (818) 639-9444 or email: j.fletcher@whcouncil.org

PUBLIC INPUT AT NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL MEETINGS –Comments from the public on agenda items will be heard only when the respective item is being considered. Comments from the public on other matters not appearing on the agenda that are within the Board’s jurisdiction will be heard during the General Public Comment period. Please note that under the Brown Act, the Board is prevented from acting on a matter that you bring to its attention during the General Public Comment period; however, the issue raised by a member of the public may become the subject of a future Board meeting. Public comment is limited to two minutes per speaker, unless adjusted by the presiding officer of the Board.

SERVICIOS DE TRADUCCIÓN – Si requiere servicios de traducción, favor de avisar al Concejo Vecinal 3 días de trabajo (72 horas) antes del evento. Por favor contacte a Joyce fletcher de la Mesa Directiva, al j.fletcher@whcouncil.org o por correo electrónico avisar al Concejo Vecinal.

Notice to Paid Representatives – If you are compensated to monitor, attend, or speak at this meeting, City law may require you to register as a lobbyist and report your activity. See Los Angeles Municipal Code §§ 48.01 et seq. More information is available at ethics.lacity.org/lobbying. For assistance, please contact the Ethics Commission at {213) 978- 1960 or ethics.commission@lacity.org

PUBLIC POSTING OF AGENDAS – Neighborhood Council agendas are posted for public review as follows:
● www.whcouncil.org and go to the calendar page and click on the date, board meeting and agenda
● You can also receive our agendas via email by subscribing to L.A. City’s Early Notification System at
https://www.lacity.org/subscriptions

ANY ITEM ON THIS AGENDA IS SUBJECT TO ACTION, INCLUDING A MOTION AND VOTE AND COMMUNITY IMPACT SUBMITSSION

AGENDA

Committee Members: Ray Cole, Gina Thornburg, Aaron Quantz, Komalpreet Batth, John Sandy Campbell, Tadeh Kennedy

1. Call to Order
• Welcome New Member
• Roll Call
• General Public Comment On Non Agenda Items- Public Comment: 2 minutes.
• Approval of Minutes

2. Homeless Encampments in Woodland Hills Streets and Underpasses
Discussion and possible action:
• Winnetka
• Corbin
• Shoup
• Fallbrook
• Variel
• Other Locations

3. Stakeholder Request-Homelessness 2020
Discussion and possible action:
• Community Request-Canoga and Erwin-3/3/2020
• Homeless encampments-05/07/2020
• Corbin and Winnetka-7/23 &7/24

4. Vital-Documents Envelopes for Unhoused Persons
Discussion and possible action:
Motion:

[DRAFT MOTION]

Title: Vital-Documents Envelopes for Unhoused Persons

WHEREAS, clean-up operations conducted by the City of Los Angeles, including LA Sanitation’s Liva-bility Services Division, often remove and discard important identifying documents belonging to unhoused individuals; and
WHEREAS, these documents include driver licenses, birth certificates, Permanent Resident Cards, natu-ralization certificates, Social Security cards, paycheck stubs, and other vital documents; and
WHEREAS, unhoused individuals typically face extraordinary hurdles and barriers to replace these docu-ments lost during sanctioned City clean-up operations and activities; and
WHEREAS, these hurdles and barriers include a lack of funds or administrative or technical resources and assistance to re-apply for these vital documents, as well as lengthy application processes; and
WHEREAS, unhoused individuals need these vital documents when seeking housing of any type, such that their loss results in a prolongation of their periods of homelessness; and
WHEREAS, the loss of vital documents during clean-up activities has revealed a great need for a way to protect important and valuable documents of the unhoused community from City-mandated and -sponsored sweeps; and
WHEREAS, an effective approach toward protecting these documents is to provide, free of charge to the unhoused person, a durable, City-protected, resealable envelope that is easily identifiable by all City personnel, including employees of LA Sanitation’s Livability Services Division and the LAPD’s HOPE teams; and
WHEREAS, such an envelope would be transparent and stamped with the City of Los Angeles official seal so that when a clean-up is being conducted, City employees and officials can easily identify it as a Vital-Documents Envelope and handle it with special care, recognizing that it contains important documents; and
WHEREAS, City personnel conducting clean-ups through LA Sanitation’s Livability Services Division, which includes CARE and HOPE teams, will be notified by their respective departments that the envelopes are legally protected from being seized and discarded during clean-up operations and are to be returned to the owner if they are inadvertently taken during the clean-up; and
WHEREAS, if, due to circumstances beyond the control of the clean-up teams, Vital-Documents Enve-lopes end up in their possession, a notice will be posted at the clean-up site with contact details as to how an unhoused person may retrieve their Vital-Documents Envelope; these details include the name of a human be-ing to call and email, the address of the physical location where the Vital-Documents Envelope will be kept safe, a phone number, an email address, and a URL containing all of these details; and
WHEREAS, the use of a Vital-Documents Envelope will reduce the risk of losing important documents, which are needed to support unhoused individuals’ efforts to leave their dire situations; and
WHEREAS, having clean-up-proof documents will quicken the process of finding housing; and
WHEREAS, durable, sealable and waterproof envelopes will help protect documents from being damaged by weather or other external forces; keeping documents clean and undamaged benefits the office personnel at homeless-services agencies and organizations in the Continuum of Care because office workers will encounter better-organized and cleaner documents rather than soiled, torn, and faded ones; and
WHEREAS, these Vital-Documents Envelopes should be offered to each unhoused person who makes contact with a homeless-services agency or organization or a lead agency operating in the City under the um-brella of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority; and
WHEREAS, outreach workers from any homeless-services agency or organization or lead agency should offer these Vital-Documents Envelopes to unhoused individuals with a clear explanation of how these enve-lopes will protect their documents from being seized and discarded during City clean-up activities; and
WHEREAS, these Vital-Documents Envelopes should be purchased by the City of Los Angeles from its list of approved vendors and provided to every homeless-services agency and organization and lead agency operating under the umbrella of LAHSA; THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that the Homelessness Committee of the WHWCNC ADVISES the board of the Woodland Hills–Warner Center Neighborhood Council to APPROVE this proposal for Vital-Documents En-velopes and to URGE Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and his colleagues on the Los Angeles City Council to immediately and urgently devise a cost-sharing arrangement with the County of Los Angeles to realize the purchase, allocation, and distribution of Vital-Documents Envelopes to all homeless-services agencies and or-ganizations operating under the umbrella of LAHSA for the purpose of distribution to each unhoused Angele-no who comes into contact with these agencies and organizations.

5. Woodland Hills Homelessness General Matters
Discussion and Possible Action:
Discussions of general matters involving homelessness in the community

6. Community Ending Homelessness Updates
Discussion and possible action:
• Continued discussion on Access Center for Woodland Hills
• Discussion of the Pallet Shelters

7. Increased Public Involvement and Homelessness Information for Stakeholders
Discussion and possible action:
Creation of content for the website, stakeholder email blasts, and more public involvement-updates from Committee Members

8. Woodland Hills Homelessness Volunteer Opportunities
Discussion and Possible Action:
Volunteer Plans for 2020
• Organizations to partner with in Woodland Hills for volunteering
• Food Drive Discussion, Partnering with the Public Safety Committee

9. Adjournment of meeting:

The agenda may be revised prior to the meeting to add further items for discussion

Disabilities Act Notification:

*THE AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT – As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services and activities. Sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices and other auxiliary aids and/or services, may be provided upon request. To ensure availability of services, please make your request at least 3 business days (72 hours) prior to the meeting you wish to attend by contacting Joyce Fletcher, at (818-340-6554 or email j.fletcher@whcouncil.org or the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment at (213) 978-1551 EmpowerLa@LACity.org
Brown Act Notification:
In compliance with Government Code 54957.5, non-exempt writings that are distributed to a majority or all of the board in advance of