What is good homelessness policy? – Sept. 2026

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Friend of CHOA,

There are a few connected topics in this newsletter, all around homelessness.

The key question: what is good policy in regards to homelessness?  For Arcadia in general, is it better to leave people unhoused, or to house them?  Is it safer for us all – our residents, schools, businesses, parks – for people who are unhoused to remain on the streets, or to actually place them in homes?

I know, there are follow-up questions, like how will they be housed.  But this is a key question to start.

CHOA will be talking about Oak & Ivy (formerly known as Elara) that will house 45 previously unhoused people.  (Note, if an unhoused person is housed, they are no longer homeless, right?)  While some have loudly opposed this project (which isn’t even in Arcadia; it’s next door in the County), shouldn’t we be celebrating this resource?

CHOA wants to place some more spotlight about this project in the next 9 months.  If you had a chance to ask the developer of Oak & Ivy a question, what would you ask?  CHOA will compile your questions, and list them.  Send us your question, or come to our Sharing Gathering on October 24th.

Here’s what is in this newsletter:

  1. Our next Sharing Gathering is on Saturday, October 24th:  There are many changes occurring in Arcadia in regards to housing.  Join us to cover each topic, and what that means for us all.  Register to let CHOA know you will be coming!  See the details below.
  2. Homeless Point-in-time Count: The results of 2026’s annual homeless count are in! See the summary chart above, and further details below.
  3. High school intern working on the CHOA website: This is the second time CHOA benefitted from a paid internship, partnering with Hope IT. Read more below.

Peace,
–Mike Veerman
CHOA Team Lead

Next Sharing Gathering on Saturday, October 24th


CHOA is having our next Sharing Gathering on Saturday, October 24th, from 9:15 to 11:30am.  In just two hours, you will hear the latest that is going on with reducing homelessness and building affordable housing in Arcadia.

We will cover the below topics:

  • Reducing homelessness
    • HERO – our new case management for people who are unhoused.
    • Oaks & Ivy – this development will provide homes for up to 45 people that are unhoused.
    • Homeless Count – update and how you can volunteer in January 2027.
  • Building Affordable Housing
    • North Village project at 225 N. 2nd Avenue 130 condo units including 20 affordable housing units.
    • Explain the 118 future affordable housing units coming to Arcadia.
    • Explain what affordable housing is, across LA County.

We are so grateful that Journey Community Church is hosting us; this is their second time.  Their address is 121 Alice Street, Arcadia 91006.  
If you have not come for a while to a CHOA event, join us now.  You will connect with those making an impact and meet others who are also learning and probing on how they can join in.  Register at the below link.

Register for the October 24th Sharing Gathering

The flier for the gathering is below.

Does this mean we do not have a homelessness issue in Arcadia?
Source: https://www.arcadiaca.gov/government/recreation/programs/homelessness/point_in_time_count.php

Results of the 2026 Point-inTime Homeless Count:


The Point-in-Time Homeless Count results are out. We counted 55 homeless folks/tents/vehicles in Arcadia.  See the line chart above.  There are 2 things to know about this value.  

First, there is not much change since last year.  

The next thing to know, is that there is no multiplier used in the last 3 years, 2024, 2025, and 2026.  This means, if we counted a tent, that would just be one.  If this is a large tent, that is also counted as one.  Previous years, a tent could be counted as 2…or a large tent…maybe 3.  We are not allowed to open tents, due to privacy (of course), to actually see how many people are in the tent.  So the total counts for the last 3 years are not the same numbers as the years before that; those total are using different approaches to counting.  From first glance, it seem like our the number of people experience homelessness is dramatically decreased.

You can see that counting is important, but it is not easy.  

You can also begin to see, we have an undercount.  We count at night, and many people who are unhoused go to places where they are not seen.  Many homeless families are very much undercounted.

Consider volunteering for the homeless count, in January 2027.  You get to see what is involved, connect with the city and county staff, and help make this process run smoother.

That leads to the next thought.  If we had a chance to house many people who are unhoused near Arcadia, should we support that?  In unincorporated Arcadia, Oak & Ivy is building 48 units for people previously unhoused.  They provide services, and an on-location staff member.  We add some details below.  

  • This development is quite ambitious.  It has 45 units of affordable housing.  That’s more affordable housing units than any other future project in Arcadia, at the time of this writing.
  • The key is they provide another 48 units designated for housing people who are unhoused.  This is called “Permanent Supportive Housing”.
    • “Permanent” means, this is not a temporary housing.  The residents can stay here for a long time, and the building is also permanent.
    • “Supportive” means the previously unhoused resident received services, as appropriate for each case, be it mental counseling, treatment for substance abuse, job training, etc.  There is even an on-site housing navigator.  The idea is to keep them housed.
  • Address is 4217 Live Oak Avenue, Arcadia CA 91006
  • Construction has begun, and the grand opening is set for Summary of 2028.
  • The Developer is called Affirmed Housing.  
    • This is their website is this: https://affirmedhousing.com.  
    • You can see they have multiple affordable housing projects.  They have finished similar projects like Oaks and Ivy across California (San Jose), and one in LA (West LA).  
    • They are experienced.

The Oaks and Ivy project website is below:
https://www.oakandivyapartments.com/

Slides by Affirmed Housing in their Oaks and Ivy (formerly known as “Elara”) October 2024 presentation is below.

https://e064dacf-2d71-4ee1-9808-40e7dd38121f.filesusr.com/ugd/629c02_fc860ffed3614b6f91a2bbdcc4fdc373.pdf

What are your questions about this project?  CHOA will gather all our collective questions and concerns, and send these to the developer.  CHOA wants all of us to be informed, and understand this project.

Rendering of Oaks and Ivy
Source: https://www.oakandivyapartments.com/

Underserved high school student’s paid internship with CHOA:


CHOA had our second opportunity to partner with the faith-based Hope IT volunteer group, to offer a paid internship to work on the CHOA website,for an underserved high school student in the Pasadena area.  

This high school student did the following, working 20 hours total remotely, over 4 weeks, at $19 per hour.  He used his newly found skills using WordPress over the summer to help keep the CHOA website up-to-date.

  • 3 blog posts (May, June and August…see 2 of them in the picture below)
  • Updated the Events web page
    • Added info for the October 24th Sharing Gathering.
    • Documented the April 2026 Sharing Gathering in a new web page.
  • Updated the Resource web pages
    • Case management (with the HERO changes)
    • Affordable Housing (new projects and the 2026 Income levels)
  • Help create the prototype for a possible new feature for the CHOA Home webpage.
  • Joined in weekly meetings with the CHOA webmaster, and attended CHOA’s August team meeting.

2 of the 3 blog posts added by the high schooler in this paid internship