Daniel Palmer is one of nearly 8,000 people who are homeless in the San Fernando Valley alone.

As he digs though trash cans and recycling bins each day, he knows he has his limitations.

“Some people jump into the trash can. I can't do that anymore,” says Palmer.

Years ago, he quit his construction job to take care of his parents living in Sherman Oaks. After his father passed away he was left with no money and no income, and soon found himself homeless.

According to Palmer, Sherman Oaks residents “pay a lot of money for an apartment,” and “they don't want you skulking around.”

Lucky for him, one neighborhood resident lets them do more than that.

Lisa Hardy, a Sherman Oaks resident, opened her home to Palmer.

She runs her own nonprofit called Lighthouse, a place of refuge that focuses on doing homeless relief efforts in the San Fernando Valley. In Palmer's case, she's going with a more personal approach, by allowing him to stay in the backyard of her Sherman Oaks home.

She also helps Palmer out with other matters, like when she felt it was time to replace his makeshift eyeglasses, which he crafted himself from a set of lenses he found in a trash can and jerry-rigged to a different set of frames.

“I do feel that everybody deserves an opportunity to have a second chance,” says Hardy

As in much of the Southland, there has been a lot of turmoil in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood over whether or not to build a homeless shelter in the area.  Some of the more recent neighborhood council meetings in the area have seen some intense yelling matches between local residents and Councilman David Ryu.

Hardy didn’t go to that particular meeting, but she did have a chance to watch video of one of the meetings as residents hurled firey words at the Councilman.

“This is all based on emotion and it's ridiculous and it's chaotic and nothing gets solved this way,” said Hardy, shaking her head as she watched the video on her phone.

As is the case throughout much of Los Angeles, many Sherman Oaks residents maintain a “not in my back yard” mindset when it comes to housing the homelessness. Until Palmer finds permanent housing at least, Hardy is taking what could literally be called, a yes in my backyard approach.

And Hardy might not be alone.

The city and county are rolling out pilot programs under which homeowners would receive subsidies of between $10,000 and $30,000 for commiting to creating accessory dwelling units - or "granny flats" - and renting them out to homeless individuals.