Resource Center Receives Public Loan
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to loan the Laguna Relief and Resource Center $100,000, throwing a virtual lifeline to an organization that has provided a literal lifeline to disaster victims and street people.
With the lease on their current facility about to expire, the center has been in escrow to purchase a new facility at 2633 Laguna Canyon Road, but needs financial assistance to close the deal. "It would be my wish that we move forward with this and give them their $100,000 loan," said council member Kelly Boyd.
The appropriation from the city's housing in lieu fund, collected through development projects, was to be secured by the property and subordinated to any other current or future debt of the Resource Center.
The interest-free loan, due only upon the sale or change in use of the property, is contingent upon the center's operators obtaining a conditional use permit. The city's Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the application later this month.
Seven residents spoke in favor of the loan, and none came forward in opposition.
Even so, in a letter published in this paper Sept. 12, Katie and Dirk Maes, claimed the center's proposed new location "a health and safety hazard for all." They expressed safety concerns for temporary residents without cars and proximity to families with young children, among other things. Maes said Wednesday he was unaware of this week's hearing over the loan and was disappointed to have missed the opportunity to comment. "I'd love to see them get the money. I love the whole program," he said, but still objects to the location of the new facility.
Ed Sauls, chairman of the Resource Center board, said the loan was a critical factor in implementing the recommendations of a city task force to aid the city's homeless population. When reached Wednesday, Sauls was "very pleased" with the council's decision. "I think it shows the tremendous community support and acknowledgement by the City Council of the importance of the new Resource Center."
Additional fund raising and community support are still essential for the financial viability of the center, he added.
During public testimony, center board member Andy Siegenfeld said volunteering at the center "gave my whole life meaning." He promised the new center would be a "good neighbor" in its new location.
Rich Shoemaker described the invaluable assistance he received after losing his home in the 1993 firestorm from the center, then newly organized to serve fire victims.
Jason Paransky suggested the Resource Center is part of what makes Laguna "an ideal place." While distributing food in Heisler Park, Paransky said he met a homeless man who told him, "We're not bad people, we're good people who had bad things happen to us."
The community needs to keep supporting these "good people," Paransky said.
Board member Earnest Stuart called the center a "community cornerstone" that allows us "to express community kindness and compassion." He added, "We're here in the emergency need for fires, floods, slides and earthquakes, whether it's the homeless folks or the folks who just lost their home."
The Resource Center began as the Laguna Relief and Resource Coalition to help residents in the wake of the 1993 firestorm and was revived during the floods of 1998. The center itself was first opened in March 1999, and now provides three levels of community outreach to disaster victims, low-income families and the local homeless population. An entirely volunteer operation, the center relies heavily on donations and fundraising events (such as last May's Boutique Benefit and the upcoming Homeless Concert on Sept. 27) to sustain its programs, let alone expand its homeless outreach, which is a current goal.
The center is open to five or six homeless residents each weekday. They can shower, wash laundry and consume a hot meal in a clean, warm and welcoming atmosphere, a tonic to restore dignity. The more far-reaching goal is to connect homeless clients with services to help them off the street.
Earlier this year, James Pesavento became director of the homeless assistance program and is developing programs to end homelessness locally.
