The idea of providing designated areas for unhoused people to camp, with bathrooms and access to social services, isnt new. On a recent morning, a couple of days before the parking lot in East Hollywood opened to its first campers, a few unhoused men stood on the sidewalk outside its mesh-covered fence. You have some people who are very inappropriate.. The woman said she was at a vulnerable place in her life when she began making out with Josh in the bushes near the encampment. SFs most important stories, delivered straight to your inbox, An aerial view of a Civic Center safe sleep site homeless encampment near City Hall in San Francisco, Calif. on October 30, 2021. A woman walking to her job and another making sandwiches at a nearby senior center praised the Urban Alchemy employees for keeping the streets safe. I mean, Ive been to prison, but you cant even make up the stories of what we see.. 5 stars. Councilmember Ward is the chair of the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, an integrated array of stakeholders committed to preventing and alleviating homelessness., Dispelling myths about who the homeless was paramount to all three speakers, but Elliott highlighted that in San Diego, the cause is primarily economic. Urban Alchemy officials reject that characterization, saying they told Los Angeles officials they didnt want police involved in outreach to the unhoused and didnt coordinate with officers during sweeps. Mayor London Breed awarded the non-profit Urban Alchemy an $8.8 million grant to blanket the downtown area in August 2021. Kirkpatrick Tyler, Urban Alchemy's chief of community affairs said in a statement that Perry was a long-time employee of another nonprofit homeless agency called Five Keys and was recently hired at Urban Alchemy. The workers most of them rebuilding their own lives after being incarcerated might ask people to move tents off sidewalks so children can walk to school, pick up syringes or rush in to reverse one of the citys frequent drug overdoses. Each response includes a licensed mental health worker. But where others in the nonprofit services sector and psychologists see prison trauma as debilitating, Millerwho recently received a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of San Franciscobelieves that struggling to survive on the inside requires expertise in an encyclopedias worth of social cues. Powelson said he reported drug use by Urban Alchemy staff to Josh, who was a shift supervisor. Audits by Galperin have shown that a yearslong effort to build 10,000 new subsidized apartments for formerly homeless people in the city has been slow and costly, with a typical project taking three to six years to complete and running as high as $700,000 per unit in some cases. Homeless Population: 8,124. The San Francisco-based nonprofit Urban Alchemy, which operates three similar campgrounds in the Bay Area, has a contract with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a city-county agency, to run the East Hollywood site. Miller became a board member last month. He wants the city to outlaw camping on sidewalks and in parks altogether. Los Angeles officials, however, have praised Urban Alchemy for providing services to an often difficult-to-help population. Powelson claims Clark-Johnson was one of the two men in upper management who smoked concentrated marijuana oil with the campers. 636 Eye Street, NW bitea dose of arts, culture and more. Urban Alchemy is moving the needle where nobody else is really able to move the needle, which is because theyre doing the same old, same old, Miller said. The Nightmare Espionage Act That is Killing Julian Assange and the First Amendment. LA opens its first government-run homeless encampment. Urban Alchemy is a peaceful and supportive presence, inviting communities to rebuild and restore a sense of pride and respect in urban spaces. The residents of the Sausalito homeless encampment emphatically disagree about the staffs qualifications. The organization later urged employees to call police instead of engaging with dealers. Founded in 2018 with 30 staff, Urban Alchemy started out by providing one program that monitored public bathrooms in a San Francisco neighborhood. Few people know how to withstand the trauma and chaos we see on the streets its usually those who have endured it themselves. The American Society of Landscape Architects We teach that in our training.. Mitch OFarrell, the city councilmember whose district includes both Echo Park Lake and the new East Hollywood campground, declined an interview. Yeah my name is David and I have a similar issues the staff in Los Angeles that work in the urban alchemy 3rd Street 2301 West 3rd Street Los Angeles California accuse me of first breaking in the property which I lived on then excuse me of hateful words and they said I was using the n word and I was training staff I dont think I would ever do any of those things they just were caught sleeping and slang word for messing up I guess cuz one was asleep and the other one wasnt at the front gate and I let myself in and they changed it all around lie after lie. 4 stars. While campers who come into the lot will still be without permanent housing, Urban Alchemy CEO Lena Miller says this type of site can be a first step towards that goal. Urban Alchemy started back in 2018. Jeff Kositsky, center, now works with the nonprofit Urban Alchemy after heading up the S.F. | Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images, By clicking Subscribe you confirm you have read and agree to our. In Los Angeles, homeless advocates accused Urban Alchemy, which was hired on a six-month, $350,000 contract to offer shelter to people living at Echo Park Lake, of acting as an arm of law enforcement to clear encampments. One of the worlds richest regions has some of its starkest divides, with its top 10% of households holding two-thirds of its wealth. A comprehensive rundown Miller says salaries start around $19 an hour, and I fight really hard to try to give good wages to my people.. Urban Alchemy's 2022 budget shows the nonprofit receiving more than $43 million in total contract and grant revenue from the cityup from just under $36,000 in total revenue during 2018, the year it was founded. Fax: 1-202-898-1185, Copyright 2008 2019 Building community and state level buy-in is central to achieving these goals. Another concern is that more government-approved campgrounds will mean more police enforcement for those who refuse or arent able to enter the sites similar to how the city recently resumed encampment sweeps near shelters, on the rationale that people in those areas have somewhere else to go. In 2021, San Francisco hired Urban Alchemy to take on a slightly different task: patrolling areas of the city with high concentrations of homeless camps and offering resources to those living outside. The American Society of Landscape Architects That was predatory. The few people who remained on the block stayed out of the middle of the sidewalk and tried to keep any drug use out of view. COVID mightve come from a lab leak. Urban Alchemy is "moving the needle where nobody else is really able to move the needle, which is because they're doing the same old, same old," Miller said. They were salesmen, you know, Powelson said. A half dozen porta potties stand in a row along one side of the lot. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. After I was done, he let me keep the 20 dollars., Gossage gave the employees name off the record because she said hes the only Alchemy person I could trust.. The organization holds $62 million in contracts in San Francisco while also providing homeless services in a half-dozen cities. He wanted information about whats going on at the camp, Kelly said. that person was later asked by a UA director for details on the remark, and no details were provided, Clinebell wrote. At the July 28 City Council meeting, all but two members voted to hand over operations of the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) to Urban Alchemy.. That's the California-based . A turd. But Millers core philosophythat long stints in prison can equip a person for handling crises in the streetsis a selling point that seems to run counter to mainstream psychology. Some residents ask whether the workers can be effective in the most volatile situations without putting themselves in danger. And then well be out of the way of all the looky-looers too, he said. Breeds homeless services department awarded eight of 12 no-bid contracts to the organization to quickly set up homeless shelters. The CIRCLE dispatch center can respond to 911 calls to LAPD that aren't criminal in nature. Urban Alchemy is a peaceful and supportive presence, inviting communities to rebuild and restore a sense of . UA has a no drugs or alcohol policy while at work, and that includes a prohibition on showing up to work under the influence of those substances, Clinebell wrote. Del Seymour, a Tenderloin community leader, called Urban Alchemy phenomenal because it helped calm the streets without police and allowed the city to quickly open homeless shelters. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing was contacted for comment. The current contract expires on June 25. sues owner of Tenderloin boba cafe linked to alleged theft operation for horror story health code, housing violations, Mayor London Breed vows to fight for more police officers in upcoming San Francisco budget talks, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Portraying difficult subjects in art can be juicy and colorful, Culver City eliminates honors English in attempt to reach racial equity, LAs Black students see fewer cops, more resources 2 years into achievement plan. But the groups rapid growth has brought challenges. Statistics only tell half the story. Nobody else fucking wanted to do that, Miller said. At the ASLA 2019 Conference on Landscape Architecture in San Diego, Brian Elliott, policy analyst for San Diego Councilmember Chris Ward; Brandon Davis with the California-based Downtown Streets Team; and Lena Miller with Urban Alchemy, discussed strategies to reintegrate homeless individuals into their communities, ranging from top-down policy decisions to empowering local unsheltered populations through employment options. While an LA Homeless Services Authority spokesperson says that Urban Alchemys contract includes housing-focused case management, Miller says thats not her organizations speciality, and Urban Alchemy typically partners with other nonprofits for housing navigation. It can't be the type of offer that leads to criminalization and displacement and the shutting down of other public spaces, said Shayla Myers, an attorney with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Not even base metal. Im going to fuck you up, Josh can be heard shouting in the first second of the video. He bought her a sandwich, prayed with her, then took her to the citys linkage center. One person claims they had to resort to sex work after the city allegedly destroyed their encampment. The safe sleeping sites were opened after UC Hastings sued the city for deteriorating street conditions at the onset of the pandemic. A female camper spoke about her intimate involvement with Josh, an Urban Alchemy supervisor who worked at the camp until recently. We found a turd and turned it into gold. Curating the best of The Standards top-notch reporting, every Saturday. One reason the city cited for retaining Urban Alchemy was the amount of time the Sausalito police were spending at the camp. And they were also hired to help clear out Echo Park last summer. LA has a well-documented shortage of affordable and subsidized apartments. Shes just mad because I wont let her suck my dick, Josh said to the police, according to two campers. The organization conducted a review of its policies in response to the incident, Tyler said. ECHO's executive director, Matt Mollica, said Urban Alchemy has been active in training opportunities and expanding on-the-ground outreach. "I haven't had a dissatisfied customer yet," says Briggs. As the Bayview Vehicle Triage Center reaches is first anniversary, questions remain over its success in meeting SFs shelter needs. At the end of the day everybody has to have respect you know? S.F. Students also learn that disrespect, defiance, doing drugs and showing up late will make you unsuccessful at Urban Alchemy, Hammonds said. | Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, By clicking Subscribe you confirm you have read and agree to our. After the Pacific Sun revealed the names of Urban Alchemy staff who the campers allege participated in drug use and sexual predation, Clinebell responded with an email to two of the papers editors. The four-bedroom residence serves as . Helping with that transformational experience takes extensive preparation, said Lola Whittle, president of the Urban Alchemy board of directors. Most campers reported few problems with Mike and Joseph. By the end of this year, however, he needs it back. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) The Clean. Marcia Gilmore, a Lower Nob Hill resident, pointed to an incident in which people asked an Urban Alchemy worker to intervene with a man banging a mailbox with a hammer and arguing with strangers. All Rights Reserved In our experience, cleaning is one of the . Miller attributed some lawsuits to growing pains as the group expanded without infrastructure it has now built and said others were bulls., Urban Alchemy grew fast and you make mistakes along the way, Miller said, adding that if there were real or serious complaints, we wouldnt have grown so fast. Powelson denies that anyone from Urban Alchemy requested more information. The stillborn baby was found at a site that was located in a rotunda in front of San Francisco City Hall. To achieve this, Elliott encouraged landscape architects to continue to design for everyone, not specific populations. The marginalization of homeless individuals often leads them to ignore the social norms of public space. Aaron Kelly, a current resident of the camp, said he did crystal meth with the same Urban Alchemy employee, who no longer works at the Sausalito encampment. Ian came up to me and said, Why did you throw us under the bus with that? Powelson said, referring to Clark-Johnson, Urban Alchemys residential services director. Steveo. Clark-Johnson and Hammonds came back several times. Through emails, Clinebell detailed Urban Alchemys policies about employee drug use on the job and sex with campers. The organization represents a test of new models of public safety that San Francisco and other cities across the country are embracing. Several co-located agencies offer case management, job placement services, legal . All rights reserved. From February through December 2021, the City of Sausalito entered into several contracts with Uban Alchemy. Right now in the City of Los Angeles, it's a free-for-all, said Buscaino, who is a former LAPD officer. After being hired to guard and provide other services to homeless encampments in the Los Angeles Skid Row neighborhood, workers became associated in the citys progressive media with a decision to evict homeless people from a downtown park. A report published by the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy attacked the nonprofit, calling it a mercenary and saying its function is to disappear visible poverty in a manner that appears less violent and more palatable than previous sweep systems.. Fearing retaliation, the campers have remained silent for months about serious allegations against Urban Alchemy employees. At least six lawsuits have been filed against Urban Alchemy since it was founded in 2018. Campers can bring in their own tents and whatever other belongings fit inside their assigned space. Miller grew Urban Alchemy out of her nonprofit Hunters Point Family, which won contracts with San Francisco Public Works to run the citys public toilets starting in 2016. 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Urban Alchemy also prohibits predatory sexual behavior because of the power dynamics, according to Clinebell. Sausalito Mayor Janelle Kellman didnt respond to the Pacific Suns request for comment, nor did the rest of the city council members. Washington, DC 20001-3736, Phone: 202-898-2444 Downtown Streets Team employs local homeless populations to clean community spaces in San Jose and San Francisco. Dillon said nobody else had achieved what Miller had in Bayview and Hunters Point. We dont have weapons, mace. Since 2018, Urban Alchemy has grown to 1,100 employees in five cities, with projected revenue of $55 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, records show. Urban Alchemy has helped me to learn to help myself, Paradox said. Homelessness Rate: 0.93%. At the time, Powelson and the other campers had no idea Clark-Johnson and Hammonds were high-level managers in an organization retained by the City of Sausalito. During training, students learn Urban Alchemys seven values respect, integrity, empowerment, empathy, self-discipline, self-control and self-esteem. The Pacific Sun contacted Cook through Facebook for comment on the allegations. Mayor London Breed, along with many residents, businesses and community leaders in the Tenderloin and Mid-Market neighborhoods, praise Urban Alchemy for making streets cleaner and safer. I looked on their website and it was hella vague. Mara Paradox, a nonbinary exhibition artist hired months ago, was in their second training after they relapsed in drug use and went back into rehab. Urban Alchemy won a $10 million contract to operate the safe sleeping site, or tent village, on Fulton Street in May of 2020. Urban Alchemy provided a data sheet showing they supply over 12,000 showers per year. The organization said it believes that engaging in conversations and encouraging folks to care about their neighborhood is a much more effective approach than forcing people to move or having police write tickets to those who cannot afford to pay them.. Entry level positions for Urban Alchemy, like the Clean Teams, have become a familiar site in downtown Los Angeles, Venice and Hollywood. If you are in need of emergency shelter, please contact the Union County 24 Hour Homeless Emergency Response Hotline at 2-1-1. Plans for continuing education such as computer and financial literacy are also in the works, the organization said. A comprehensive rundown Our people tell the rest. At the Sausalito tent encampment, Urban Alchemy moved three employees to other locations after altercations with community members, the organization said. A year ago, the Community-Based Public Safety Collective formed with the aim of creating national best practices and training for roughly 200 similar organizations nationwide. That goal was the focus of a recent training for new employees that The Chronicle attended. SFs most important stories, delivered straight to your inbox, Urban Alchemy employees pick up trash, while homeless people gather belongings in the Tenderloin. On Joshs right leg, an 88 tattoo is clearly visible, which stands for Heil Hitler, according to the Anti-Defamation League, as H is the eighth letter of the alphabet. LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles is seeking answers to the homeless crisis. The site also provides showers, three meals a day and 24-hour security. All Rights Reserved. Then, after 90 days of close supervision and further training, the organization decides whether to keep the employee. The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition partnered with Urban Alchemy and the nonprofit We Can Now on a grant-funded pilot for a street outreach team. In San Francisco, the organization is being paid $11.8 million over two years to work in the Tenderloin including $3 million from UC Hastings College of the Law, which is located in the neighborhood. Were stunned with the insensitivity of calling our workforce mercenary, especially since our practitioners are primarily Black, Latino and formerly incarcerated or homeless, Miller said. It represents a new strategy meant to corral the tents and cobbled-together structures that currently stand in parks, on sidewalks and below freeway overpasses, while providing services to the unhoused. Our agenda is humane treatment for people, and at Echo Park it meant offering them shelter as a safe place to go, which they took voluntarily simply by it being offered., Marco Tavanti, an expert on nonprofits at the University of San Francisco, said the five lawsuits against Urban Alchemy represented an elevated number compared to other nonprofits, except for some in the health sector. Youre using force, he said. The best of what to see, hear, eat, do, and more. Miller became interested in public toilets, specifically their importance in ensuring the dignity of the homeless, but also their potential for jobs. Michael Clinebell, senior director of strategic initiatives at AMF Media Group, a public relations and crisis communications firm, is the spokesperson for Urban Alchemy. At about midnight on Jan. 7, 2022, the fire department responded to a report that a stillborn baby was found in the portable bathroom of a tent village referred to as a Safe Sleep Site.. All Rights Reserved. The people that complain and dislike the homeless for whatever reason.. In order to combat the housing issue, the city council has committed to at least 140 new units of permanent support housing in all 9 council districts to be built over two years. Many team members spent time in prison and surviving that was possible, in part, because of an ability to deescalate a situation. Made in L.A. Streaming music, news & culture from KCRW Santa Monica, Live streaming music, news & culture from KCRW Santa Monica. One organization the city is working with, Urban Alchemy, was founded to provide career opportunities for the formerly incarcerated. Despite enjoying fairly broad support in the neighborhood, though, the nonprofit has also faced an array of criticism. Ive had 20 years of homelessness off and on, and this has given me great purpose., David Harding, a professor of sociology at UC Berkeley, said he hasnt heard of another organization as large as Urban Alchemy thats not just willing to hire people with criminal records but actively seeks out those folks as employees.. The operator of the site, the nonprofit Urban Alchemy, has since moved on to open a homeless shelter in Lower Nob Hill and was recently granted a contract by the city to perform homeless outreach. The collectives co-founder, Aqeela Sherrills, called Urban Alchemy highly effective, saying it builds relationships, helps people with housing and reduces violence. "They've been great," he said. Miller noted how the work provides not only an income but also a sense of pride, remarking on an anecdote where one employee called the Governor of California into a bathroom stall he had just cleaned to show him how clean it was. Wayne Shorters all seeing eye: A tribute and final conversation with the jazz pioneer, Adam Scott, Lee Edward Colston II, and Sandy King Carpenter on The Treat, Wintering and enchantment: A pathway to healing and happiness, Born of persecution, Parsi cooking melds Persian and Indian cuisines. Although the pair mentioned they were with Urban Alchemy, Powelson said the men gave the impression they were homeless advocates from San Francisco. The idea is that while police are trained to respond to active threats, life has trained CIRCLE team members. In reality, the nonprofit provided cover for city efforts to roust people from their tent sites, according to activist complaints documented in a UCLA research paper describing Urban Alchemy workers as a surveillance group, an arm of the police and a mercenary outfit intent on exploiting their workers own precarity as feel-good media narratives.. LA County sheriff's recruits graduate months after Whittier crash, Highways into the San Bernardino Mountains are closed to drivers, LA County passes motion requiring retrofit of some buildings by 2033. 2023 KCRW All Rights Reserved. Urban Alchemy, a workforce development agency, trains and employs former long-term offenders. The city has also signed $53 million in contracts with Urban Alchemy to run eight homeless shelters and help staff the citys new Tenderloin Linkage Center near City Hall, where people can connect to services.