Kathryn Barger, chief deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, joined community stakeholders and city leaders in Lancaster recently to present a grant of $1 million to the city for the development of a homeless services center in the Antelope Valley.
“Working closely with the city, community-based organizations, and county departments, this funding will be used to develop a comprehensive homeless services center to address the ongoing homeless crisis here in the Antelope Valley,” said Barger, also a candidate to replace Antonovich on the board. “Effective solutions to our homelessness problem require a multi-faceted approach and public-private partnerships to help these individuals reestablish healthy, productive lives.”
“The Antelope Valley has always been vastly underserved when it comes to funding to aid our large homeless population,” said Lancaster Vice Mayor Marvin Crist. He said the lack of money from the county has necessitated a local collaboration with the faith-based community and various civic organizations to mitigate growing social-service distress. “We are extremely pleased to be in receipt of these funds, which will go a long way toward serving the needs of our homeless population.”
Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said it is beneficial for the “right people” to work toward the “greater good” of the community.
“When this happens, it is always amazing how the resources emerge to make things happen,” Parris said. “So many resources have worked tirelessly to compose an attainable solution for the homeless crisis here in the Antelope Valley. Having the vision to address these problems is not always enough. The financial resources need to be present in order to solve the social service challenges to our Valley. We now have something notable to work with and build upon from a monetary standpoint.”
