Friend of CHOA,
Hope you had a good Christmas. December was a good break for the CHOA team. We are rested, restored, and ready to engage again.
And then…we had the wind and fire these last few days. The Eaton fire so impacted our local communities. This fire took away homes from so many families. It’s hard to see.
We keep this newsletter short, in light of just keeping us all on track with updates on the fire. We also want to spread the word on the Homeless Count.
- Fire updated information: We provide easy links for you and those around you to reference. There are resources and some shelter for those affected by the fire.
- Join in the Point-in-time Homeless Count in Arcadia, Wednesday, January 22nd: Read below why the PIT Homeless count is so important, and how to help in the Arcadia count later this month. The city needs our help.
May we all see and sense God’s grace and mercy.
Peace,
–Mike Veerman
CHOA Team Lead
Fire relief information
After taking in what has happened in our region of LA (especially Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and Glendale), it is really heartbreaking to watch. So many homes have been destroyed. So many people are affected. Below are some key websites providing updates.
Arcadia’s “2025 Windstorm” web page is a good place for Arcadia specific information, see the link below. They mention there is shelter by the Red Cross at the Pomona Fairplex (including animals), as well as the Pasadena Convention Center. Please pass this information around.
www.ArcadiaCA.gov/2025Windstorm
US Congresswoman Judy Chu’s website is also helpful, with good information. See that link below.
https://chu.house.gov/EatonFire
Point-in-time Homeless count on Wed., Jan. 22nd, 8pm
The Homeless count is being done simultaneously throughout LA County. Each city does a count, as well as Arcadia.
The City of Arcadia needs many of us to volunteer to help with the count. They need 50 volunteers, and so far, there are about 10 signed up.
Basically, the key things to know are below:
- We start at 8pm at the Arcadia Community Center, to get organized and get assigned sections of the city for each of us to cover. It takes about 2 to 4 hours to finish. Yes, that can be late.
- Each team goes in one car, and Ideally has a team of three. One drives/navigates through your assigned section of the city, one is looking for and counting folks that are unhoused, and the 3rd person enters the results in the phone app. If you have a team of 2, one drives, the other enters the count in the app, while you both look for folks that are unhoused (you are driving slowly). You all register as a team, and it is best to register as family, to not spread COVID to others. You need to 18 of age or older to volunteer.
- You need to complete a 30 minute on-line training before January 22nd, on what to do, how to count, and just be familiar with the app.
- We stay in our cars. You don’t have to walk around. We don’t open tents, as we need to respect people’s privacy. If you find a situation is too risky or uncomfortable, you do not need to go into those areas.
- Further below, we provide a bit more information on why the count is important, over the last few years.
- Register before January 22nd. To register, use one of the 2 links below. See the flier below as well. Maybe send this flier to some of your firends, and folks in your church.
https://www.arcadiaca.gov/enrich/recreation___community_services/homeless_services/point_in_time_count.php
https://count.lahsa.org/pages/volunteer-registration
The count is important to show if our effort (or lack of effort) in reducing homelessness is making an impact. Ideally, our city/community is making efforts to reduce homelessness, and the count shows we are on the right track. Below is the count so far in the last seven years in Arcadia, and the table showing these counts further below.
These counts are shown in the table below. Here are some key points:
- Up to 2018, the city has acknowledged, they really did not make a full-attempt to have an accurate count.
- Starting in 2019, we did, as we saw the numbers go up.
- In 2024, the value of 95 is different from the other years. The other years used a “multipler”. In 2024, the raw number of 95 is used. The “multiplier” may seem at first to inflate the count. But knowing we cannot go into tents and RVs due to privacy, we cannot actually see everyone. If you see an unhoused person by a large RV, or around a large tent, LA County usually increases the count by a few more people, as the temporary shelter seems to hold more people. Just want to explain that the 95 for 2024 is really a different kind of number than previous years.
- LA County wants to see not only the count for each city to decrease, but also for the region. Arcadia is in SPA 3. SPA means Service Plan Area. These are the cities that are included in SPA 3: Service Plan Area (SPA) 3, which encompasses the San Gabriel Valley. Other SPA 3 cities include Alhambra, Altadena, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Claremont, Covina, Diamond Bar, Duarte, El Monte, Glendora, Irwindale, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Pomona, San Dimas, San Gabriel, San Marino, Temple City, Walnut, West Covina. Pasadena is not in SPA 3, they are in their own region.
- What this also means is, we as the Arcadia community still have much work to do to reduce homelessness in our city.
*The data presented are actual counts of the persons and improvised dwellings and have not been adjusted by a multiplier to estimate the persons living in the counted dwellings.