Photo: Courtesy Mitch O Farrell / Courtesy Mitch O Farrell
By: Mitch O’Farrell
more vulnerable residents such as Angels who demand safe access to their public spaces. In March, we placed 209 people in transitional housing with support services, and other necessary resources.
For more than one year, as of January 2020, my team and I have focused on accommodating the homeless population of Echo Park Lake. We provided them with access to restrooms and laundry facilities, as well as other hygienic services, in addition to repeated offers of shelter and housing, which is what the homeless community of Echo Park Lake needed from us.
My approach was successful because it was led by experienced homeless workers and service providers, not the Police. In fact, I have been a leader in our city’s efforts to create an unarmed response model, particularly when it comes to responding to the homeless and mental health crises. I was one of the first councilors to support this initiative when it was introduced last year.
This commitment to unarmed response was central to our focus on Echo Park Lake. In December of 2020, I hired Urban Alchemy, a team of professionals that includes to people with experience in homeless life. My focus then, as now, was on case work, shelter placement, and trust building.
Now that Echo Park Lake is temporarily closed, repairs are underway . It has long been clear that they are urgently needed. Just as important, I have conducted a public safety assessment for the park and the Echo Park community, with the ultimate goal of giving the space back to who it belongs to: the community.
Echo Park Lake is a public space shared by all people: homeless and homeless. For many working families, the park represents the only access to playgrounds and open spaces. It is the duty of City leaders to ensure that these spaces remain accessible to our families, while we continue to provide resources to our homeless neighbors.
By focusing on housing and public safety in Echo Park Lake, we strike that balance. This is my commitment, not only to Echo Park, but also to the District 13 and with the entire City of Los Angeles. I hope you’ll join me.
Council Member Mitch O’Farrell represents since in the Los Angeles City Council to the District , what includes Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Echo Park, Elysian Valley, Glassell Park, Historic Filipinotown, Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire / Koreatown, Rampart Village and Silver Lake.
