Chronic Location 133rd & Broadway.
133rd & Broadway is a chronic hotspot for Illegal Dumping. Items like boats, furniture, used construction materials, roofing, pallets, human waste wrapped in blankets, buckets of stuff, Amazon packages, and gardening waste. We were fortunate to have additional resources on Thursday which enabled us to start removing the waste. During the removal, we found 5500 copies of Pasadena Magazine still wrapped in plastic. We have reached out to the magazine & the publisher. In this video, it was such a pungent scent that caught us all by surprise. I couldn’t help but share in the video. Somehow, we still managed to find some humor in this mess.
“I Want To Die Here”
Clean ups are just one part of our efforts to reshape our neighborhoods. Working with those individuals living on our streets is requiring the majority of our time. If you look closely in this photo, you will see an elderly man living in the middle of this situation. His words to me “I do not want any help. I just want to die here”. It was heart wrenching to see someone with no hope. I made several calls to our homeless outreach providers to get someone to the location to no avail. On Saturday, Adult Protective Services visited him. I took an umbrella & a blanket to him as well. As of this writing, he is still in the location. Union Pacific Railroad will be sending someone from CityNet to offer him assistance on Monday.
The Game Changer For All of Us.
Thursday, January 18th, the area of 135th & Broadway in Rosewood were cleaned up with the assistance of several local businesses. The County of Los Angeles provided dumpsters from Universal Waste Services (UWS). Both Century Sheriff & LAPD Southwest provided assistance with the street closure. Los Angeles County Fire & Golden State Water performed checks on the fire hydrants. The area around Phillips66 is now cleaned up. The RV’s have not been relocated. We are working to get the service providers to this location to assist us with resources & housing options.
The individuals living in the RV’s at this location all participated in the clean up. We provided additional trash bags and have requested trash bins be provided on a weekly basis until there is plan to remove the RV’s. Working along side the homeless gave us the opportunity to get to know them, figure out what resources were available and get the providers to them. We will continue to monitor this area and ensure everyone has a plan. Many of these folks are ready & willing to work. We could start to utilize them to maintain our streets if we work together.
Thursday, January 18th.
Today, we will be cleaning up this situation on 135th and Broadway with the assistance of our local business community and Public Works. Clean up begins at 10am. We are hopeful to make a dent with the waste and clear the areas directly next to Phillips66 facility. One Street at a time at this point.
Illegal Dumping Update.
Another Victory For All of Us! We received information from LA County Public Works with an update regarding the Illegal Dumping that was caught in the act on January 2nd on Compton Blvd & Main Street. Deputies from the Sheriff’s Dept issued citations this morning to the two individuals responsible for the dumping. This is our third case involving local illegal dumpers. We are now waiting to see what the DA is planning to do with the case.
SAFETY.
Today, we were reminded of the dangers lurking on our streets. While we were in the Caltrans area doing outreach, we experienced an individual suffering from a mental health issue. We contacted CHP to help us with the individual. While we were waiting for their arrival, a local security guard approached us to advise someone was seen with a handgun in this location. Thank you to CHP South Los Angeles and LAPD Harbor Division for the quick response.
What We Are Doing To Find Solutions
The resources within the Unincorporated LA County areas are limited. Illegal waste is piling up on the streets often for months. Every morning, we start the day by driving each street, reporting the illegal dumping, graffiti, possible stolen vehicles and request resources for the homeless. For the past two days, we have watched the piles of waste increase along several locations. We have organized a Clean Up with local businesses providing the tools to remove the waste along 135th. The county will provide the dumpsters. Century Sheriff will assist with traffic. Homeless outreach providers will be in the area on Wednesday morning. Getting businesses involved in process is our quickest method at getting the waste off the streets.
Update for Thursday, January 11th.
As the new day arrives, we are on the streets reporting the problematic locations. We received information that a regular illegal dumper is bringing piles of dirt to a specific location every morning at 6am. It is this commitment that is helping reshape our business corridors.
They Count Will You?
We are honored to host the Homeless Count for the Third year in a row for the community of Harbor Gateway. On Wednesday, January 24, 2024 starting at 8pm.
Our deployment location is
The Enclave
970 W 190th Street
Torrance/Harbor Gateway 90502
Holiday Highlights 2023
As Chamber, we donated 350 toys, provided meals for 200 people, delivered clothing to those in need and served over 2500 hot chocolate beverages at four Winter Wonderlands. We transported 12 people during the holidays to SafeLanding. And we had a blast every step of the way.
Thank you to everyone that supported, donated and/or sponsored our efforts.
I have created a video recap from all of our holiday events click this link
Enjoy!