Skid Row's Issues and Solutions

SKID ROW RESIDENT SELECTED AS CHAIR OF NEWLY-FORMED HOMELESS SUBCOMMITTEE BY THE LA COUNTY INTEGRATION ADVISORY BOARD

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES- Today, the LA County Health Agency’s Integration Advisory Board held it’s second-ever meeting. During the nearly 4-hour meeting, a few key decisions were made. While there were several subcommittees formed, one of them was the IAB’s Subcommittee on Homelessness. With all of the recent attention given to arguably the most-talked about topic in all of Los Angeles County by…

ARE LAPD CHIEF BECK AND LA MAYOR GARCETTI MAKING SECRET MOVES REGARDING SOUTH LA POLITICS?

SOUTH LA- Last week, a well-known South LA gang member turned Black activist (Someone who advocates predominately for Black issues, but will remain nameless in this article) took to social media to voice his displeasures against Black Lives Matter activists. There were also wild claims made publicly against other community activists as well, which thereby validate multiple upcoming “defamation of…

MAYOR GARCETTI’S PUBLIC TOWN HALL MEETING AT A CHURCH SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON THE CONCEPT OF SEPERATING CHURCH AND STATE

SOUTH LA- This week, Mayor Eric Garcetti convened a town hall meeting in South LA with hopes of addressing African-American concerns such as police brutality, lack of jobs and homelessness. The public meeting was held at Holman United Methodist Church on Adams (about a minute south of the 10 freeway) and drew a crowd of several hundred concerned citizens. As soon as the Mayor began to speak,…

City of LA’s ‘Coordinated Entry System’ is NOT a Solution for Homelessness……6 Reasons Why!

October 16, 2015 DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES- Recently, CityWatch published my article about the “Coordinated Entry System” (see below link) http://citywatchla.com/archive-hidden/9731-la-s-coordinated-entry-system-is-not-a-solution-for-homelessness-here-s-why …And because they have a 750 word limit, my article was edited by CityWatch staff (No problem…totally understood) (Also, the original version is…

Is There A Facebook Conspiracy Against Outspoken Skid Row Community Activist General Jeff?

September 26, 2015 SKID ROW, LOS ANGELES- With so many rumors flying around about why popular and controversial Skid Row community activist General Jeff was seemingly “banned by Facebook” (where he has an international following), it has been decided that it’s now time to clear the air. Here is the account of the actions (or lack thereof) for you to decide; On September 1st (25 days from today),…

BREAKING NEWS: Skid Row resident named to newly-formed LA County Integration Advisory Board

September 24, 2015 DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES- Today, in the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration building, the Los Angeles County Mental Health Commission selected Skid Row resident and community activist General Jeff as one of the “consumer representatives” on the newly-formed Integration Advisory Bord (IAB). Said Advisory Board’s members will include commissioners and representatives from each of the…

September 23, 2015 DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES- All due respect to Rev. Andy Bales, both for his longtime efforts to help homeless folks and during his many bouts with various health crises….As a cancer survivor myself, I take any and all health concerns VERY seriously. That said, I am having a difficult time understanding the current health issues Rev. Bales is dealing with……”Rev. Andy” as he is…

FINALLY!…..”State of Emergency” declared Regarding Homelessness in Los Angeles

September 22, 2015 DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES- Finally, the City of Los Angeles’ political leaders did what we at ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS have been urging them to do for years- Declare a “State of Emergency” as it relates to homelessness throughout Los Angeles. While we were speaking specifically of Skid Row, various City leaders over the years told us that they couldn’t designate that status for only a…

United States to “take in” 100,000 Refugees in 2017….What about America’s Own Homeless?

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES- A recent article in the New York Times starts with- “The Obama Administration will increase the number of worldwide refugees the United States accepts each year to 100,000 by 2017”. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/world/europe/us-to-increase-admission-of-refugees-to-100000-in-2017-kerry-says.html?_r=0 As a community activist for the last nine years in Skid Row (commonly…

Even More Widespread Support for the Creation of the Skid Row Neighborhood Council

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES- As the Chair of the Skid Row Neighborhood Council- Formation Committee, I have absolutely GREAT news to report. With overwhelming support for the creation of the SRNC becoming more and more evident each week, tonight we gained a MAJOR and massive endorsement from the SLAANC- South Los Angeles Alliance of Neighborhood Councils- a coalition of 15 NC’s and community governing…

   The below link is to a document which provides "undeniable proof" of the existence of the Skid Row community's "Positive Movement" that also proclaims a desire to want to "do-for-self", which is quite contrary to popular belief. This document lists the summation of our first four years of community activism in Skid Row, Downtown Los Angeles. Please keep in mind that these are only highlights of some of our most memorable efforts as we continue to fight to help improve the deplorable conditions, as well as give a voice to the Skid Row residents......Remember, there are two sides to every story. We hope that you give the Skid Row resident's a chance to tell their collective side, as opposed to the "Skid Row non-profits", that have dominated the story-telling for decades!!!.... Thank you in advance for being fair!

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES- History was made during Tuesday night's DLANC Board meeting when Skid Row resident, community activist and DLANC Board member General Jeff was voted in as the new VP of Outreach and Communications, replacing Jay Kim who recently closed his Downtown business in order to focus more on his overseas business ventures.

After being nominated by Hal Bastian, a savvy, multi-termed veteran of the DLANC Board and also Senior VP of Business Development at CCA, a unanimous vote in favor of General Jeff historically establishes Jeff as the first resident from Skid Row to hold an executive position on DLANC's Executive Committee.

"This has been a tremendous year for our community", said General Jeff, referring to the Skid Row community's on-going "positive movement" whose highlights this year include multiple Daytime Emmy Awards for veteran soap opera "The Bold and The Beautiful" who's storyline featured General Jeff and many others from the Skid Row community, also a recent trip to "The White House" and now this historic DLANC Board vote.

"We are leading by example to show that many positive things are possible. Don't ever give up!", Jeff added in a tone seemingly meant to motivate others, especially those in Skid Row.

While no special ceremonies are planned as of yet, General Jeff anticipates "some level of acknowledgment" during an upcoming Town Hall meeting in less than two weeks featuring many City officials that he is organizing and will be announced soon. "Even a handshake or a pat on the back would be a symbolic gesture that the Skid Row community could be proud of", Jeff said. He added, "It may not be important to others, but this is HUGE to our community".

Let's hope that "classy gestures" overflow at both the upcoming Town Hall meeting and also at the next DLANC Board meeting.