Placing Vulnerable Houseless Will Begin May 6 at Norwalk’s Saddleback Hotel

The vulnerable houseless will be placed at the Norwalk Hotel beginning this Wednesday May 6.

BY BRIAN HEWS • May 4, 2020 • 5:15 p.m.

Last week, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Samantha Jessner issued a temporary restraining order directing the city of Norwalk to temporarily place houseless people considered vulnerable to the coronavirus in a motel.

At the time, Hews Media Group exclusively learned that the hotel was Saddleback Guesthouse located at 12500 Firestone Blvd in Norwalk.

Jessner said the interests of the county in implementing a state order under Project Roomkey to safely place the houseless during the pandemic outweighed any harm the city could suffer.

The judge’s order applies only to the Saddleback. Louis “Skip” Miller, an attorney for the county, said he had no objections to the limitation. “That’s the motel they want to get going on,” said Miller.

Until the ruling, Norwalk had resisted the county’s efforts to secure temporary emergency housing by enacting legislation “directly contrary to, and in violation of, (Gov. Gavin Newsom’s) declaration of an emergency and his issuance of executive orders,” according to the county’s petition filed Thursday.

Now, HMG-LCCN has learned that on Sunday May 3, City and County officials conducted a walk-through, that also included representatives from the Roomkey Project and the Los Angeles County Fire Department, of the hotel.

According to sources, the Whittier Area First Day Coalition will be the operator for Saddleback Roomkey project.

First Day offers housing and supportive services for clients in La Mirada, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, Whittier, and parts of the unincorporated areas of L.A. County.

First Day expects to gradually begin housing ten to fifteen vulnerable houseless folks per day starting this Wed May 6. The hotel has approximately two-hundred rooms, so First Day will have the hotel full by May 20, as they indicated that “they have clients already lined up to fill the occupancy.”

HMG-LCCN was told that Los Angeles County does not have a plan after 90 days, August 6,  for the hotel and the houseless.