MALIBU—It has been almost a year since the Malibu United Methodist Church stopped their dinners for the homeless. In November 2017, Malibu United Methodist Church ended their weekly meal program for the homeless after the city received multiple complaints regarding the safety of the community, where homeless individuals were traveling from Los Angeles to Malibu to receive free meals. Malibu United Methodist Church served food to the homeless twice a week for 17 years.
On March 20, 2018, Malibu City Manager Reva Feldman and Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl agreed to resume free meals for the homeless. A grant was given to the city from the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors’ Homeless Initiative to help provide meals to the homeless. The city of Malibu will be involved with feeding the homeless, as the program will now be held at the old courthouse.
The Malibu Times reported the new program started on September 24, and will take place twice per month where volunteers from Malibu United Methodist Church and the Community Assistance Resource Team (CART) will assist. There will also be outreach workers at the dinners to provide services and housing information to the homeless.
The area will be monitored by sheriffs in order to alleviate the community’s sense of safety during the dinners. Members of the community are invited to volunteer, observe, and attend the dinners.
