Central Valley City On Notice: The Un-Housed Make their Case.

An excerpt from the Porterville Recorder (8/20/2020)

Picture of Rosendo and Justin meeting outside of Porterville City Hall-

Arturo Rodriguez, with the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance, stated that he has been working for the past couple of years to identify the needs of the homeless population in the community. Rodriguez said that the biggest need, besides housing, among the homeless is sanitation facilities, especially restrooms. He said he would like to work with the city to find a solution.

Gilbert Sandoval stated that he has tried to get in touch with housing programs, but has been turned down many times. Sandoval also stated that many of the resources he reached out to no longer existed. He questioned the Council as to what happened to the homeless resource programs, and why he hasn't been housed yet when he has reached out to all of the resources and programs he knows of.

Justin Hall was candid with the Council and shared that he has been homeless for five or six years. He said that sanitation facilities are badly needed at the river, and that the homeless population needs better access to resources. He expressed the difficulty that comes with being homeless and finding a job, or even just getting people to listen to him.

Lastly, Rosendo Hernandez requested that the Council place an item on their next agenda addressing the needs for sanitation facilities among the homeless population.

The next Porterville City Council is scheduled for September 1, beginning at 6:30 p.m., and will be streamed live via the City of Porterville's YouTube channel.

(Note: title corrections made to original post are underlined)