South Central development project concerns neighbors



 

A new South Los Angeles development project drew sharp criticism from neighbors and health advocacy groups at a press conference Monday. A report released by Human Impact Partners found that “The Reef” development, slated to build two multi-use high-rise buildings, will place over half of renters in the site’s surrounding area at high risk for financial strain or displacement.

In September, the City Council released a 3,000 page environmental report on the development. The document has been has been a source of strain on attempting to be involved in the development process.

“In the immediate, we are concerned about the draft [environmental impact review] project that has only given us 47 days to respond to a 3,000 page document,” said Benjamin Torres of CDTech.

Beyond the environmental impact report, the community is concerned that the development will bring new residents into the proposed luxury apartments while pushing out lower-income locals because of rising rent and property value.

Read More: Neighborhood council to take action on Reef Project report

Los Angeles is the least affordable city for renters, and HIP found that the city lost 65 percent of state and federal funding for affordable housing between 2009 and 2014.

The South Los Angeles neighborhood surrounding the development is one of the most crowded areas in the city. In the community where 45 percent of residents fall below the poverty line, a rise in prices leaves many residents forced to compromise.

The Reef development

Residents hold a press conference in front of The Reef, which plans to develop two new skyscrapers in South LA over the next 15 years. | Caitlyn Hynes, Intersections South L.A.

Community members are worried that The Reef development will not include affordable housing, an issue that already exists. At the press conference, residents and community leaders urged developers and the City Council to consider their voices throughout the 15-year building process.  

Benjamin Torres of CDTech said he was concerned that the decisions made about the development would not include the input of the neighbors who currently live there.

“One [concern] is the long-term process and what the role of the community is, and making sure we have equitable community development that benefits the area,” he said.

Neighbors want South L.A. to attract developers. They also want development to reflect the neighborhood’s residents as they are now, not those who will move in to be a part of The Reef’s demographic.

“Let’s imagine for one minute what this project could be. Imagine if this was affordable housing for the residents of affordable housing for South Los Angeles,” said Jim Mangia, President and CEO of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center. “Imagine if that development was serving the people of this community, who have built this community with their blood and their sweat and their tears. Imagine if some of that retail space were community health centers that served this community.”

Read More: Some South LA residents express uncertainty with billion dollar development 

Dr. Holly Avey of HIP said that her organization was concerned about the negative impact that this development could have on the historic South Central L.A. neighborhood. The report found that community residents who are impacted by displacement and financial issues are at a high risk of a variety of health problems, including anxiety, depression, obesity and diabetes.

Beatriz Solis of the California Endowment said that some families are forced to make delicate tradeoffs, like choosing between healthy food or preschool.

Cynthia Bryant, the owner of a local ice cream shop, voiced her concern that when the development does go forward, the businesses in The Reef will push her out of the neighborhood. Bryant worries that the business space in The Reef will drive up rent prices across the neighborhood.

“I don’t want to be the first one to get on the boat if we get pushed out of this community, because they’re pushing us further and further. But where is the boat loading? Should I be the first or should I be the last, should I keep hanging on?” said Bryant.

The rising rents and subsequent displacement of residents worries Solis as well.

“At the community level, when people are forced out, the whole community fabric begins to unravel, and what cohesion and collaborative efficacy, or social and political power did exist begins to evaporate, making it more and more difficult to have a voice in community development,” Solis said.

Neighbors like Erendira Morales, a working mother of four children, say they want to be a part of this process to make sure that their concerns are being heard and addressed.

“We feel that they are playing with the life and the future of the people who live in this community. Our local representatives are not listening to us,” said Morales. “We have our interests, we have our opinions and we feel that they are not paying attention to us. We want to participate, we want to be part of this process.”

South LA homeless youth need homes, not shelter



Demonque Williams at Sanctuary of Hope. | Photo by Anna-Cat Brigida

Demonque Williams at Sanctuary of Hope. | Photo by Anna-Cat Brigida

Demonque Williams exited the foster care system at age 18 in 2010 with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Now 22, he still does not have a stable home. On a good day, he sleeps in a shelter or uses a hotel voucher. Most nights he sleeps on the street.

“I need emotional help,” Williams said sitting on the couch at Sanctuary of Hope, a program for homeless youth in South L.A. “I need somebody to talk to. I need to keep mentally strong out there. I need encouragement.”

Williams has found some support through Sanctuary of Hope, a South L.A. organization that provides transitional housing and assistance to homeless youth. As part of the South L.A. Transition Age Youth and Foster Care Collaborative, it aims to serve young adults among South L.A.’s homeless population.

South L.A has the largest homeless population in the city with more than 11,000 recorded according to an estimate by the 2013 L.A. Homeless Count. More than 2,000 of these individuals are under the age of 24.

[Read more…]

“Pamper Me Day” comes to South LA



By Meghan Coyle | Annenberg Radio News

Hair stylist Aja Marie Chaff gives back to the community by cutting hair on Pamper Me Day. | Photo by Mirian Fuentes

Hair stylist Aja Marie Chaff gives back to the community by cutting hair on Pamper Me Day. | Photo by Mirian Fuentes

Homeless men and women relaxed for a spa day at Awesome Hair Salon in South L.A. on Monday Feb. 23. The salon provided free manicures, facials and haircuts to homeless individuals and those living in transitional housing for the second annual “Pamper Me Day”.

The event hoped to give these men and women a boost of confidence so they can see themselves in a new way.

Hairstylists such as Aja Marie Chaff spent time with participants to get a sense of their own individual style. Understanding who these people are and what they are looking for helps gives the customers a better experience, according to Chaff.

Martina Tegalo hasn’t had her hair cut since she attended the event last year.

“I always wait every year for this event because it’s a really special event,” she said.

Sheila Thorne, founder and CEO of the Women of Color Entrepreneur Directory, organized the event. The event is her way of paying it forward to thank all those that helped her when she was homeless.

Thorne estimates Awesome Hair Salon served 25 customers during the event. The salon hopes to make the event a regular occurrence.

Volunteers tally South LA’s homeless, counting one by one



homeless count feature image

Homeless Count volunteers show their certificates of completion. | Stephanie Monte

Instead of the usual dinner and birthday cake, Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker spent her birthday in a more altruistic way: She gathered a group of family and friends to volunteer for the biennial Homeless Count on Thursday night. The “Happy Birthday Jackie” group joined nearly 100 volunteers at Holman United Methodist Church, one of South L.A.’s deployment sites for the count. This South L.A. contingent represented a fraction of the 6,000 volunteers who gathered data on the city’s homeless population over three days under the supervision of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

“We want to be a part of the 2015 revived mission to eliminate homelessness,” Dupont-Walker said. “We think this is a part of it.”

L.A.’s Homeless Count is the nation’s largest program taking a headcount of people living on the streets. L.A.’s homeless population is second in size only to the homeless population of New York City.

Homelessness in South L.A. is more common than any other part of the county. The 2013 Homeless Count tallied more than 11,000 homeless people in South L.A. Six of the seven other districts counted a significantly smaller homeless population, with estimates ranging from 2,500 homeless to 8,000. Service Planning Area 4, Metro Los Angeles including Skid Row, with about 10,500 homeless individuals was the only area with an estimate similar to South L.A.’s Area 6. [Read more…]

No longer homeless, chef brings pastries to Skid Row



From left to right: LaToya Alvarez, Latrina Wilcher, and Zachary Greenblott volunteer their fine cooking skills for a unique audience. |Anna-Cat Brigida

From left to right: LaToya Alvarez, Latrina Wilcher, and Zachary Greenblott volunteer their fine cooking skills for a unique audience. | Anna-Cat Brigida

Once a month Latrina Wilcher goes to Skid Row to hand out slices of cake and pie in heart-shaped boxes. Her goal is to help the homeless people in Los Angeles “one pastry at a time.”

“These treats are not the healthiest in the world, but it costs money to get a cupcake or cookie,” said Wilcher, a South L.A. native. “So I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to give them something that would take them a lot to get somewhere else.” [Read more…]

South LA collaborative fights homelessness



Volunteers collect pledge ballots from attendees.

Volunteers collected pledge ballots from attendees. | Anna-Cat Brigida

There are more than 8500 homeless young people in Los Angeles County.  One of the highest concentrations of homeless under the age of 24 is South L.A. The South L.A. Homeless Transition Age Youth plans to take these kids off the streets and improve their lives.

 This story originally aired on Annenberg Radio News.

My neighborhood: Manchester Square



Participants in Reporter Corps, a USC Annenberg program to train young adults from South LA to report on their own communities, created audiovisual introductions to their neighborhoods this summer. Skylar E Myers project focuses on history, poverty, and love. 

Skylar Endsley Myers, 23, Saint Bernard Catholic High School graduate, University of California San Diego graduate 

My family has lived in South Los Angeles for nearly three generations. My grandparents remember the treachery of the Watts Riots of 1965 just as vividly as they can recall their first time witnessing the genre-bending genius of George Clinton & the Funkadelics at a house party in Compton. And let me tell you their words are unlike anything you’d read in a history book. In the midst of gang wars, riots, and disparity my grandparents would tell me these stories and they’ve worked to instill me with pride, hope, and dignity throughout my life. I always assumed they told me these stories as a reminder that we’ve been here before and we’ve made it through and we have the power to get through it again. For this reason I feel storytelling is important, especially for the improvement of the community. Stories are records of what has happened in the past to form both who you are and how you’ll behave in the future. Through Reporters Corps South LA, I hope to bring light and voice to the overshadowed stories of the streets, the people, and the schools in hopes of instilling all South Central Angelinos with the same pride, hope, dignity and attachment I feel for this city.

To read about Skylar’s experiences growing up in South Central click here.

Community unites to bring more homeless youth services to South LA



Jiovonni Tripplett

Jiovonni Tripplett

Dressed to the nines in a grey pinstriped suit, Jiovonni Tripplett hardly looks like he’d ever been homeless. But it was only months ago that the 23-year-old South Los Angeles native stopped seeing the streets as a necessary way of life.

The only child of a mother struggling to overcome drug and alcohol addiction, Tripplett recalls lashing out at other family members who tried to care for him—including his grandmother, who eventually turned the self-described “wild” child over to the county’s Department of Child and Family Services when he was 8 years old.

Tripplett floated in and out of foster homes, and later, youth detention camps—at 13, he stole a car and was released from foster care to juvenile probation services. Ignoring his family’s efforts to help him, he found solace in a gang and racked up robbery and assault charges. [Read more…]