Friend of CHOA,
Hope you are well. There is so much going on in regards to housing and homelessness in Arcadia, we are trying to keep these newsletters short. We will cover one main topic at a time. In this issue, the Homelessness Symposium is the main topic, but do know there is plenty other important efforts going on.
Below is what is in this newsletter:
- We would like to introduce the CHOA team. We think it will help you to know who we are. The team is diverse. Consider joining the team yourself. You do not need to do or know everything; our team members focus on different efforts.
- CHOA is wrapping up meeting with City Councilmembers. Next week we speak with City Councilmember Paul Cheng. In March, we hope to speak with Mayor Pro Tem Michael Cao. Join us for these gatherings if you can.
- The Homelessness Symposium on Thursday, Feb. 29th, 8am to 3:30pm, is bringing in many City Councilmembers from cities across the region to share and find out what is working and not working in regards to homelessness. The public is welcomed to come and listen.
Do continue to pray, and join in these efforts, as you can. These are pivotal times for housing and homelessness in Arcadia.
Peace,
–Mike Veerman
CHOA Team Lead
Meet the CHOA team
God willing, CHOA is energized by faith-based volunteers. The CHOA team is committed. The CHOA team is diverse, coming from different faith traditions, different generations and cultural backgrounds. Over these last 2 years, the CHOA team is actually changing, evolving. Folks have been on the CHOA team in the early stages, and have needed to step away. New team members have joined since then. Meet our team in the link below.
Consider joining the CHOA team. The CHOA team has a healthy number of members, but we need to grow a bit more. Or maybe you know of a friend or neighbor that would be fit nicely in the CHOA team. No one CHOA team member does everything that CHOA covers. We each focus on different areas, work on different efforts. However, we do need a few more team members.
Lastly, the CHOA team is also inspired and guided by authors. They give us wisdom, experience, and insightful perspectives. We encourage you to read a few of these books we recommend, Internet article, as well as a few podcasts. See the link below for this list of recommendations.
https://choaarcadia.org/recommended-reading/
Meeting with City Councilmembers from District 4 & 5
As you know, CHOA has been focused on the Housing Element for some time now. In a stunning unanimous 5-0 vote, City Council passed the Rezoning changes earlier this month. We are getting closer for our city’s Housing Element to be compliant with the State, to allow building 3,412 more residential units in Arcadia. 1,600 is to be affordable housing. The next key vote is the Inclusionary Ordiance, the percentage of development units that need to be affordable housing units.
This is why we are still meeting with City Councilmembers. Advocacy leads to real residual units to be built in Arcadia. Join us in these gatherings, especially if you live in, or your church is in these two Districts, see the District Map in the link below.
Up next, CHOA will meet with our City Councilmembers from District 4 and 5.
CHOA will meet with Councilmember Paul Cheng next week, in District 4. We again will share our housing stories, and why we want to see affordable housing be built in Arcadia. These are key times for our City Councilmembers to get a more personal connection and understanding from those in Arcadia (residents and church members) on how we see housing to stabilize families.
CHOA is planning to meet with Mayor Pro Tem Michael Cao in early March, in District 5. If you like to join us, email us back on this email, or contact us in the link below.
http://choaarcadia.org/contact-us/
Homelessness Symposium – Thursday, Feb. 29th
Mayor April Verlato is again leading our city and region in homelessness solutions. She has put together a gahtering for many city councilmembers and city staff from cities around our region. The goal is to share, learn, and improve all our cities to handle the homeless crisis. And it will happen right here in Arcadia.
The gathering will be on Thursday, February 29th, from 8am to 3:30pm, at the Arcadia Community Center. There will be panel discussions on different topics, with speakers from different cities. This event is focused on the “cities”, not really what service providers are doing (although they are a vital part of the puzzle.) Only City Councilmembers and staff are allowed to speak and ask questions. The public is welcome to come and listen. This is a great time to learn on what is working, and what is not. Several CHOA team members will be there.
The event is co-sponsored by LA County Supervisor Kathyn Barger’s office, and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (COG), so the cost is reduced to $20. Breakfast and lunch are included. The registration deadline is the end of next week. See the flier and registration link below. (Note: the link works best on a smartphone. If you use a computer with the link, click “Catalog” on top, and then “Regional Events”.)
https://secure.rec1.com/CA/city-of-arcadia/catalog/tab/22243/19933839087f5f75eaa9b97724864821
