SHERMAN OAKS— On Monday, August 11, City Council President Nury Martinez and Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the completion of a homelessness shelter in Sherman Oaks. They were joined by the Salvation Army for a ribbon cutting.
This is the 21st shelter to open since Mayor Garcetti’s 2018 “A Bridge Home” program, and is the fourth shelter in the San Fernando Valley.
It is located at 14333 Aetna Street, which is adjacent to the Van Nuys metro station along the Orange line running from Chatsworth to North Hollywood.
The shelter will provide showers, restrooms, laundry services, an indoor community and more. Services like case management, substance abuse and mental health assistance will be provided by the Salvation Army. It will serve 70 homeless people starting Friday, August 14.
“This is really exciting, to take a space where you can only imagine what it would look like, and actually be able to come here and see. The taking of it from a dream to a reality, from a hope to a home,” said Garcetti.
He also added: “We took this effort on long before this pandemic, because homelessness is a public health crisis. We know that Angelenos experiencing homelessness are more likely to die, get sick, more likely to be afflicted with poverty and other conditions that make their quality of life less than Angelenos that are housed.”
Garcetti has said that the city of Los Angeles is expected to open an additional 24 bridge homes by mid-December.
