A non-profit health center in Westlake is looking to build homeless housing near the intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Alvarado Street, according to a motion introduced yesterday by Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell.

Clinica Romero, located at 123 S. Alvarado Street, would build the proposed supportive housing development atop its existing one-story structure.  The arrangement would allow the health center to provide supportive services to residents of the building.

“We decided that the abundant space we have can be better utilized to house some of the patients that visit our center on a daily basis,” said Carlos Vaquerano, Executive Director of Clínica Romero. “I appreciate the eagerness that Councilmember O’Farrell and his team have shown in making our ideas become a reality as we seek to serve, and now house our unhoused patients.”

O'Farrell's motion, which has been referred to the City Council's Homelessness and Poverty Committee, instructs city staff to determine what steps would be needed to ensure that the clinic could remain open during the course of construction.

“As chair of the City’s Homelessness and Poverty Committee, I have been proactive in identifying potential sites for permanent supportive housing to address the crisis of our day as a city,” said Councilmember O’Farrell in a news release. “I commend  Clínica Romero, a vital health care center in the 13th District which provides affordable services to our most vulnerable, for taking the initiative to explore the use of its space for housing people experiencing homelessness.”

 

Clinica Romero, which has operated for more than a decade, provides affordable health care services to underserved communities in Los Angeles - including homeless persons.  According to O'Farrell's motion, the health served more than 1,300 homeless patients in 2018 alone - approximately 11 percent of their total patient population.

Just across the street at 166 S. Alvarado Street, construction is now underway for an 84-unit permanent supportive housing development that will be composed of repurposed shipping containers.

Interested in finding affordable housing? Visit housing.lacity.org.