WHITTIER, Calif. — City of Whittier staff worked together to find a solution as the number of homeless individuals in the city continued to rise.

One of those solutions was to transform the Senior Center into a new, COVID-19 compliant, shelter with 139 beds for residents experiencing homelessness. 

A new notice was posted in front of Whittier City Hall warning that officials can now enforce park curfews, which do not allow tents, or camping on public property.

Mayor Joe Vinatieri said for the last several months, the now empty lawn was full.

“We have one last shelter over here," Mayor Vinatieri showed. "A tent and we’re hopeful that she’s going to go into the shelter and will be getting the services that she needs.”

The mayor is relieved.

When he and the City Council teamed up with the Salvation Army to open a new temporary emergency shelter, nearly every person who was living on the City Hall lawn voluntarily moved into the shelter.

“People are either going to come to the shelter, or they’re going to have to move along. If they do not move along, they are going to receive a citation from the Whittier Police Department. We’re going to be compassionate and gentle about it, but we have to be firm," Vinatieri explained.

Whittier is one of few cities in Southern California to comply with a recent federal court settlement. It states that the city must first provide shelter beds for 60 percent of its homeless population before police can stop them from sleeping or camping on public property.

"The agreement said we had to have something up and running within six months, which was difficult and by the time we were looking for places, we couldn’t find places," Vinatieri said. "Thank goodness, the people of Whittier really stepped up.”

Whittier residents voted to increase sales tax in March to address the homeless issue. A portion of the money will go towards a new permanent shelter at the Salvation Army early next year, but in the meantime, staff transformed this Senior Center into an emergency temporary shelter for the homeless.

Good news for Michael Irwin, who had nowhere else to go.

“I was incarcerated for a year. I lost everything. Lost my home, lost my family, lost all my clothes, lost my job," Irwin said. 

He is starting from scratch and grateful to be at the shelter.

"It gives me a foundation to rebuild myself," he explained.

Christina Cuevas, director of operations, said rebuilding plays a big role because the shelter is not just to house Whittier residents experiencing homelessness. Case managers also work with each client to identify specific needs that will help them get back on their feet permanently.

“[We] find what their needs are, find what the barriers are, [and] see what’s holding them back from keeping permanent housing before. Then [we] slowly break down those barriers," Cuevas said.

The mayor is hoping surrounding cities with the same issue can use this structure as a model to open their own housing for the homeless.

“Little by little, maybe district by district, city by city, we can deal with the homeless problem and we’re dealing with it here in Whittier," Vinatieri said.

A city stepping up to give some of its most vulnerable another chance.