By Danielle Cendejas, Teresa Eilers and Kim Repecka
In the San Gabriel Valley, housing costs continue to skyrocket, and too many residents find themselves priced out of the neighborhoods they call home. We need more solutions to create housing for all income levels.
That includes solutions that help prevent mothers from experiencing homelessness.
Maryvale, located in Rosemead, has served children and families for over 168 years. In recent years, Maryvale has provided homes for 20 single mothers with young children in partnership with the Shower of Hope. To expand on this impact, they proposed housing for nine more single mothers with children, with 24-hour surveillance to ensure their safety. Each family selected will undergo a screening process to ensure they are eligible to receive their services.
As one of the oldest children’s charities in Los Angeles County with deep historical roots in Rosemead, many residents, including us, were excited to see this program come to fruition and hear they would be updating their historic facility to make way for nine new families.
We quickly discovered not all our neighbors felt the same way.
When the Rosemead City Council considered this proposal for discussion, nearly 1,000 people attended the meeting, mostly in opposition. Many of the attendees in opposition carried signs with them falsely stating that the new project would bring “400 homeless people” to Rosemead or “1,000 criminals will be brought to Rosemead by Maryvale.” Many of the signs asked the council to “save the children.”
Those supporting Maryvale spoke passionately to audience members, reminding them that Maryvale has been hosting 20 women with children, many of whom were college students. The changes being considered would only allow for nine additional women, bringing the total number of women being served by Maryvale to 29.
The opposition’s outlandish claims resulted from misinformation spread by Assembly District 49 candidate Long David Liu, who used this discussion to drive support for his campaign. Liu hosted several meetings to gather signatures opposing the project, during which he and his allies spread these lies. In one video posted online, his campaign surrogate states at a rally, “If you allow these single moms into the community, they will have multiple partners. Let’s ask them how clean they are?” Yikes.
Despite the intense opposition, a majority of the Rosemead City Council stood strong in support of Maryvale. Mayor Steven Ly and Rosemead Councilmembers Sean Dang, Sandra Armenta and Maggie Clark all voted to support Maryvale, with Rosemead Councilmember Polly Low being the sole vote against Maryvale. We’re proud of Rosemead Mayor Ly and Councilmembers Dang, Armenta and Clark for standing strong to support this housing and homelessness prevention solution for 29 community members facing harsh discrimination.
Rosemead and surrounding cities need more solutions to help families afford to live in the communities they grew up in and provide more stability for those living on the brink of homelessness. We need to do more to provide support to the people Maryvale serves so that these single women with children have the resources they need to afford the basics and continue pursuing their college dreams. If we want to help end our homelessness crisis and ensure people have an opportunity to build economic mobility, we need to say Yes to solutions that ensure basic housing needs are met. We’re proud our city understands this. Rosemead’s support for Maryvale is a major step toward addressing housing affordability for women with children.
Danielle Cendejas is a proud 42-year Rosemead resident. Teresa Eilers is a homelessness and affordable housing advocate in the San Gabriel Valley. She currently serves on the Rosemead Homelessness Subcommittee. Kim Repecka is a former dependency attorney, current public defender and judge-elect for Los Angeles County. She has been a resident of Rosemead for over six years.