In partnership with and grant funded by the County of Los Angeles, the city of Lancaster has embarked upon a process to better understand homelessness and provide solutions that best suit the community in addressing what has been identified as a top priority for the Lancaster City Council.
With resources generated through the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative Strategies and Measure H, the City will develop a Lancaster-centered plan to combat homelessness called the Lancaster Community Homelessness Plan.
“The city of Lancaster will rethink how homelessness is handled within our community, and we will do so with thoughtfulness and passion,” said Mayor R. Rex Parris. “The Lancaster Community Homelessness Plan represents a start – a viable roadmap to combatting homelessness in Lancaster. I look forward to seeing the new doors this Plan will open, and the positive impact it will have on our homeless population as well as our residents and businesses.”
City officials believe the Lancaster Community Homelessness Plan will provide the city with an enhanced and localized understanding of homelessness through the engagement of service providers, volunteers, businesses, residents, and most importantly, individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness.
Through a community-driven process, the Lancaster Community Homelessness Plan will provide a comprehensive look at homelessness, and offer customized actions and strategies to combat it.
To assist with the Plan development, the City has hired Michael Baker International, a firm with a great deal of community housing and service experience. The firm will engage with community stakeholders, whose involvement in the process is vital in order to develop solutions that will have the most profound impact in Lancaster.
“While the city of Lancaster acknowledges that the challenges surrounding homelessness are complex and addressing them will be no easy task – harnessing the power of partnership, and tackling the issue as a united front, will not only provide assistance to residents having the greatest need, but will also strengthen the community as a whole,” Parris added.
To provide valuable input regarding the city of Lancaster’s Lancaster Community Homelessness Plan take the homelessness survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/LancasterHomelessnessPlan. Additionally, attend the upcoming Community Workshop on May 1 at Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park, from 6 – 8 p.m.
For more information regarding the pan, or the city’s overall Homelessness Initiative, visit homelessimpact@cityoflancasterca.org or www.cityoflancasterca.org/LancasterEngage
