LOCAL SUMMER FUN SERIES 2021
Century City/ Westwood MAY 28 – JUNE 24, 2021
NEWS CenturyCity-WestwoodNews.com
Group of Westwood and West LA Residents Taking on Homelessness Crisis West LA Homeless fundraising to place two caseworkers in West LA- area By Sam Catanzaro A grassroots group of West LA and Westwood resident volunteers are fundraising to bring specially-trained case workers to the Westside. On April 22, West LA Homeless, a grassroots organization made up of West LA and Westwood resident volunteers, announced its GoFundMe campaign to help address what is calls “the most serious humanitarian crisis our city has ever encountered.” “This homeless problem is so pervasive that our city, country, state, and the federal government have not been able to solve the challenge, in spite of numerous initiatives and millions? Billions? Of dollars of taxpayer money,” the organization said in a press release. The group formed by West LA and Westwood residents is a volunteer-based
and is centered around the notion that “every person has dignity and deserves to be treated with brotherhood and compassion.” In an the press release West LA Homeless said it had successfully reached out to HOAs, Westside Neighborhood Council, Councilman Paul Koretz, among other stakeholders to raise funds to launch the program and now it is asking the public to help sustain it through. “WLAH will place two caseworkers, specially trained, in the West LA area to address the needs of our unhoused population. They will determine the cause of their homelessness and match their needs with the resources available in LA and LA County where there are hundreds of services providers available. Also if they qualify they will be assigned temporary or permanent housing,” the group said. The group touted the the PPTFH (Pacific Palisades Task Force for Homeless) as an example of how such a program can be successful. “Their concept was to engage Case Workers specific to the Pacific Palisades area on an OUTREACH basis to gain a personal relationship with as many of the unhoused as possible, gain their confidence, and find a solution to their individual challenge,” WLAH
said. “The Case Workers are specifically educated on all the options available to find placement in as many cases as possible. The result is that PPTFH has reduced homelessness in Pacific Palisades from 200 to
74 with additional hundreds placed in a proper solution for their challenge.” Visit gofundme.com/f/help-fight-streethomeless-in-los-angeles to view the fundraiser.
12-Story Westwood Senior Housing Proposal Passes Hurdle Belmont Village would bring over 50 units of senior housing to Wilshire Boulevard By Sam Catanzaro An over 50-unit senior housing development recently passed a hurdle. May 18, Los Angeles City Council adopted a sustainable communities environmental assessment (SCEA) for a project known as Belmont Village development planned for 10822 Wilshire Boulevard. The project, known as Belmont Village, is planned for 10822 Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood.
New renderings of the project will be presented on November 18 to the Westwood Design Review Board. Plans call for a 12-story senior housing project with three levels of subterranean parking. The project calls for 53 independent dwelling units, 77 assisted living guest rooms and 46 memory care guest rooms. The ground floor will include amenity spaces such as an indoor pool and a screening room. The top floor will include a dining room, lounge, great room, bistro, gym and outdoor terraces. The proposal also calls for a two-story education center to include preschool, toddler and infant classrooms with supporting administrative spaces and play areas. Church offices for the adjacent Westwood Presbyterian Church and Sunday school education spaces including a children’s classroom with breakout spaces will be provided on the upper level.12-Story Senior Housing Center Planned for Westwood.
A rendering of the Belmont Village project.
Photo: Shimahara