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Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 27, 2024 

CREATIVE HOUSING OPTIONS IN ARCADIA (CHOA) 

Local Efforts to Address the Lack of Affordable Housing and Homelessness

by LaQuetta M. Shamblee

On Saturday, April 20th, 2024 a group of approximately 30 community members convened at The Hills 
Church in Arcadia, CA for a two-hour “Sharing Session” to learn about what is being done in the city to 
address the issue of homelessness and the lack of affordable housing. The event was hosted by CHOA 
(Creative Housing Options in Arcadia), a faith-based, volunteer group working on housing with a two-
fold goal: 1) Increase affordable housing in Arcadia, and 2) Reduce homelessness in Arcadia in a loving 
manner. Staff from Monrovia’s Foothill Unity Center came to share information about the first known 
Safe Parking program in San Gabriel Valley, which they established in partnership with Trinity Lutheran 
Church in Pasadena more than two years ago.

Safe Parking programs provide parking sites where people experiencing homelessness can legally park 
and stay in their cars overnight. Some safe parking programs provide support services and hire private 
security guards. Variations of this program are spreading across the country, providing designated 
locations for people living in their vehicles to stay overnight. Each location has guidelines, including a 
strict limit on the number of vehicles allowed to park. The Foothill Unity–Trinity Lutheran Safe Parking 
program requires participants to enroll with Foothill Unity Center for case management services. The 
goal is to help them find permanent housing and access to other resources to re-establish stability.

CHOA is working hard to find churches in Arcadia with an interest in becoming a Safe Parking 
site. Information and details about the success of the Foothill Unity-Trinity Lutheran Safe Parking 
collaboration will be covered in next week’s MVN issue.

The city known as 
“Community of 
Homes” was well-
represented by an 
intergenerational 
mix of its residents. 
Long time Arcadia 
residents and CHOA members Mike Veerman, Sharon Chun Wetterau and Wendy McGrail 
provided an overview of their involvement in CHOA and other community projects related 
to helping homeless individuals. 

After Mike Veerman started the meeting, the two young men who had greeted guests at the 
sign-in table stepped into roles as presenters. Both are proud Arcadia High School Apaches; 
Raymond Cu, an Arcadia High alumni spoke briefly before turning the mic over to Kai, a 17-year old 
student who presented an overview of the homeless issue. He was masterful in his delivery of details. 
It was refreshing to hear from a young person who has already established a track record of “hands-
on” civic engagement in service to his community.

A number of concerned residents from neighboring cities attended, well aware that the housing 
shortage in the region has an adverse impact on everyone in the region. Clearly everyone at this 
gathering had enough interest to invest time to see how they can be involved in some way. In 
a society where so many people are quick to point out problems that someone else needs to fix, 
it was encouraging to see 
people come together to 
learn about and discuss 
solutions.

Arcadia Council Member 
Eileen L. Wang was in 
attendance, and during 
the latter part of the event 
Mayor April Verlato 
spoke about her efforts 
to increase the stock of 
affordable housing in 
Arcadia. She shared 
details and examples 
that highlight the impact 
of seemingly routine 
decisions made in city 
halls across America 
about zoning and real 
estate development 
projects.

Primarily fueled by a lack 
of affordable housing, 
the issue of homelessness 
continues to grow. 
Unchecked, and unaddressed it will continue to get worse. CHOA, The Hill Church, Foothill 
Unity Center, Trinity Lutheran and others actively working to identify and implement solutions, 
direly need and welcome support from the community that extends beyond a social media “like” or 
e-reply of accolades. 

 To learn more about CHOA and how to get involved or support their efforts, visit https://choaarcadia.org/. 


Melody McNulty FUCI Social Services Manager


17 year old Kai - Arcadia HS Student


Wendy McGrail - CHOA member and Joe - Safe Parking

CHOA


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com