By Mary O’KEEFE

CVW recently sat down with Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger to discuss topical issues that included the future of school resource officers and county residents who are facing homelessness.

School resource officers are sworn law enforcement officers who are assigned to a particular school or district. The LA County Board of Supervisors funds SROs within LA County using deputies from the LA Sheriff’s Dept. Last year Supervisor Sheila Kuehl brought her concerns to the board about SROs. She had stated that among her issues was SROs were armed and reports were made of more arrests of students at schools that have SROs than schools that do not have the program.

Members of the Crescenta Valley community, as well as school administrators, had gone to the board of supervisors meeting to talk about the positive aspects of SROs, in particular the relationship and mentorship offered by CV High School’s SRO Dep. Scott Shinagawa.

Barger said she is committed to supporting the SRO program. In June of last year, the board of supervisors voted to renew the SRO contract with the LASD for two years, with an option for renewal of one-year contracts for the next three years. LASD had wanted a five-year renewal contract.

For years it appeared that the homeless issue was something those who lived in the Crescenta Valley only dealt with when they traveled to downtown Los Angeles. But most have seen an increasing number of people on local streets, people standing at the exits at grocery stores with cardboard signs asking for money and people sleeping behind local businesses.

To call it a “homeless issue” seems to dehumanize the situation. The facts, according to the homeless count of January 2018, are that 53,195 people in Los Angeles County experience homelessness [LA Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)]. This number does reflect a 3% drop from last year’s count and is the first time in four years the County has seen a reduction; however, the numbers are still high.

For Barger, homelessness is more than just getting people off the streets; it is giving people hope and helping them stay off the streets. She recently toured a shelter facility in Antelope Valley that was saved from closure by a vote by the board of supervisors. That vote gave the LAHSA direction to use Measure H funds to keep the 93-bed shelter open.

“It is our goal to get [those on the street] into housing, to get them stabilized,” Barger said.

She has toured homeless camps and spoken with individuals and families that are scared to even admit they are homeless.

“I spoke to a lot of moms who were scared that they’d have kids taken away,” she said.

Many times those parents who are homeless feel they need to remain invisible so as not to call attention to their plight. They are concerned that if they do they will lose their children.

“I am committed to addressing that issue,” she said.

Barger said organizations like Door of Hope are on the right track to help families. Door of Hope works with families, teaching and training them to work to rebuild their lives while keeping the family together.

Although dealing with those on the street tugs at the heart, one must also look at the whole picture of homelessness in order to come up with ways to battle the problem.

“Until we look at the root cause we won’t find a [solution]. We have to take a step back,” Barger said.

A step back and a look at how many people went from working to being on the street, or have been on the street so long they can’t remember how they got there. There are people who had a catastrophic event, like losing a job, that resulted in homelessness. There are those who have mental illness and cannot or will not get help. There are others who are addicted to drugs. Now with laws like AB 109 there are those who are arrested for possession of illegal drugs but, if they do not have a quantity large enough to be considered possession with intent to sell, they are no longer required to complete any drug addiction rehabilitation. Many drug arrests are now misdemeanors. Barger said that many addicts are sent back to the streets without help.

“You have to set rules and set boundaries,” Barger added.

A bill currently in the state senate, AB1971, would help in getting care to those with mental health disorders. AB1971 would expand the definition of “gravely disabled” to give judges more discretion to order health care. This bill, until Jan. 1, 2024, as implemented in the County of Los Angeles, will also include a condition in which a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is unable to provide for his or her basic personal needs for medical treatment. The bill has not passed the Senate yet and is awaiting a vote in Senate Appropriations.

Barger praised Assemblymember Laura Friedman who co-authors the bill.

  Goldsworthy, Mary Okeefe