Hello friends of CHOA,
We are preparing to engage this year. First, we need to learn what is going on. Then we see how we can make an impact.
CHOA (Creative Housing Options in Arcadia) is gearing up to provide information, examples of how to find solutions in housing, and where individuals, small groups, and churches and other faith communities can see their efforts make a difference in people’s lives. As the faith community, we also need to determine how we as people of faith should address these many housing concerns. There are a few examples in this update. Reach out if you have questions.
Here are the topics in this update:
1) CHOA gathering on Saturday, April 29th, 9:30am to 11:30am
2) Homeless Count update
3) CHOA’s new website!!
4) Steven Boi and team has been caring, feeding, and sheltering the unhoused in Arcadia for 11 years
5) San Gabriel Valley Housing Justice Symposium – Saturday, April 1st
Gathering on Saturday, April 29th, 9:30am to 11:30am
CHOA has large gatherings every 6 months, to continue to allow the faith community to gather, listen, learn, and get further engaged around housing in Arcadia.
Our next gathering will be on Saturday, April 29th, in the morning, from 9:30am to 11:30am. We will be at the Hill’s Church, 805 N. 1st Avenue, in Arcadia. You may be familiar with them, as we have send out many spotlights of them distributing free food on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month (from 10am to 12pm). We will cover homelessness, and building afforable housing.
Join us to continue to hear what is going on around housing in Arcadia, and how you can make a difference. You really can. The flier for the April 29th event is on the left, and this link.
To learn more, and to RSVP for this April 29th event, click this link.
Homeless Count:
There were around 33 people that gathered in Arcadia for the Point-In-Time (PIT) Homeless Count in January. We show a few pictures of the group, and folks selecting their regions where to count.
We split in groups of 2 or 3 people, and each taking a role of driving, navigating, and/or counting on the app. It takes about 2 hours to drive through all the streets in your region. We stay in our cars, and do not approach anyone and do not disturb folks’ privacy, like opening their tents. We just count people, tents, and/or RVs in suspicious locations.
The homeless count in Arcadia continues to increase, see the chart below. We need to know if that trend is continuing. Then we need to ponder collectively, what are we going to do about it? The faith community definitely has a role to play here.
CHOA’s new website:
With our new name, we are switching all our information to our new website, see below.
www.CHOAArcadia.org
You will more and more on the website, and will be a go-to place for information, and upcoming events. All our newsletters can be found on our blog, see the link below.
http://choaarcadia.org/blog/
Spotlight – Breakfast at the Parks:
For 11 years and counting, Steven Boi and his team has been caring, feeding, befriending, loving, and housing the unhoused in Arcadia.
They take a Christian-based approach, and do the following:
- Come to where the unhoused are…at the parks.
- They are at Eisenhower Park on Monday mornings, and Arcadia County Park on Friday mornings.
- Steven has his team provide breakfast. They have breakfast burritos, fruit, warm soup, coffee, donuts, and many folks that Steven has worked with just bring other food items.
- They pray before they eat breakfast.
- They give a Scriptural based talk/sermon, to encourage the unhoused and the housed on what God is asking us to live…in his image, listening to God, and loving our neighbor.
- Steven goes beyond this, and urges the unhoused to prepare to turn their lives around.
- Steven gives them job opportunities, when they are ready.
- Steven offers housing, again, when they are are ready.
- Many unhoused that come to Steven’s breakfasts bring other unhoused they meet.
- Steven and his team have single handedly reduced the homeless count here in Arcadia for years.
- Steven has built up such a large network of partners, folks just come, and bring items. Mike saw one elderly woman bring soaps and hygiene items.
- The gatherings have a spirit of hope, and family. Folks are coming to a safe place with Steven.
CHOA strongly suggest you come visit Steven and his team. Begin to talk to those who are unhoused, and see how you can help this effort. You will sense a blessings working with Steven.
The top 2 pictures on the left is the group at Eisenhower, even when it was raining, and the 2 pictures below are some Steven and his team at the Arcadia County Park (praying before they eat breakfast together).
San Gabriel Valley Housing Justice Symposium:
Last but not least, CHOA has heard about a San Gabriel Valley wide Housing Justice Symposium, on Saturday, April 1st, from 9am to 12pm, at Azusa Pacific University. It’s an effort of multiple partners, see the flier below. You can see Jill Shook is connected, as Making Housing and Community Happen is a partner here. Jill helped to get CHOA formed, by our large gathering last year in April. CHOA is glad to see these joint efforts. Sign up with the below link.
https://linktr.ee/sgvhousing
