VNC Committee on Unhoused Neighbors Reconvenes at Venice Library
By Pat Raphael
On Monday, October 30th, the Venice Neighborhood Council’s Committee On Unhoused Neighbors began a new term. This was the first meeting of the Committee since last March, when the Committee’s term ended and the current Neighborhood Council was voted in. With the new Neighborhood Council, came new appointments. Frank Murphy, the long-time Chair of the Homelessness Committee is out, and Alley Bean is the newly appointed Chairperson of this Committee. In a sharp departure from the make-up of last term’s Committee, there are at present no unhoused persons currently on the Committee, contrasting with the last Committee which had two members of that Committee who were unhoused.
The Homelessness Committee is meeting at the Venice Library. Last month’s meeting was well attended — a standing room only crowd. This high level of community interest and participation is proof that our busy neighbors feel strongly enough about this subject to fit it into their packed schedules. Aside from Alley Bean, notable members of the Committee include Lisa Redmond, who last term, frequently offered vocal input, while often insisting that the Committee operate within Robert’s Rule of Order. Also on the Committee is Dr Naomi Nightingale, a long time local activist whom we have to thank for even having a local neighborhood council to meet around these subjects. Dr Nightingale was among the early neighbors who saw the value of having a grassroots neighborhood council, and filed the necessary paperwork with the city to establish a community council as the local advisory body to the city council.
As a first meeting of this Committee, the main purpose of last month’s meeting was to introduce the members of the Committee, and to give neighbors a chance to air some grievances. It’s always refreshing in Venice, when we see the lines drawn, and fearful voices start conjuring up a Venice where all the homeless would magically disappear, to know that there are also other more welcoming voices who always take time to speak up in these meetings, reminding us of the long-standing defining character of Venice to receive and entertain the stranger and traveler.
The conversation also featured the glaring omission of any mention of the Venice Community Housing Dell Avenue Project. When neighbors brought it up, staff present from Traci Park’s office told us that the Councilwoman instructed them to not speak on the subject. As a committee dealing with issues of direct concern to neighbors experiencing the worst effects of our severe shortage of housing, I look forward for the community to once again talk through how we arrived at the approval of this much needed building development. Of course these delays, while we re-have a conversation we’ve already had, will only prolong the suffering of our neighbors whom we all say we care about, as the waiting for housing in our community continues. Many neighbors are loudly warning that the delays to the Venice Dell is a tactic to dead end the outcome, since minds are already made up that this development should not occur. Continue supporting local, independent journalism like the FREE VENICE BEACHHEAD to stay informed on the latest concerning the Venice Dell.
Last term the prior members of the Homelessness Committee found out that the motions that came up before the committee — motions for which we solicited community comments, input from experts, discussion among the members. Then finally submitting to a vote, the Committee members found out that none of these motions ever went further than the clerk of the VNC. As one of these former Committee members myself, I was surprised that the revelation that we spent years involved in an elaborate waste of time, was only met with a mild whadayagonnado shrug. My encouragement to the new members of this Committee, and to members of the public who want to see the work of this Committee succeed, is to learn from our experience and to proactively follow up on every piece of Committee business submitted to the VNC.
We are all here in Venice, together right now. We all experience, together, the quality of life issues that arise when community resources are not properly addressing conditions of the unhoused. For this reason we all have a vested interest in the proper functioning of a robust Homelessness Committee. One of the most important inputs that can assure the best outcomes from this Committee is to open it up to true crowd-sourcing by seeking participation from a wide swath of neighbors from all walks of life. I was encouraged to hear the Chairwoman’s call to cordiality. She seeks to foster an atmosphere where many points of views can feel the freedom to speak up and have their ideas considered. The Committee meets on the last Monday of the month in the Community Room of the Venice Library. Do come and add your voice to the conversation.