Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Councilman Jose Huizar hosted an opening ceremony today for the second BIN Storage facility for homeless people living in Skid Row.
"This is a human need. For all of us, we might have a public storage unit. We might have our garages. We might have an attic we can put things in," Garcetti said. "When you're living on the street or in a car or a shelter, you don't have that luxury, but these things are no less important to you."
The hope of the mayor and councilman is that the additional facility, located at 538 San Pedro St., will also help the city keep streets cleaner, with fewer obstructions in pedestrian walkways.
"Safe storage means that what needs to be done can be done -- looking for a job, attending training and education, receiving services, or seeking shelter -- all of these things are far easier when an individual doesn't have to carry their possessions with them everywhere they go," Huizar said.
The new facility adds 1,000 bins, bringing the total number to 2,550 in Skid Row, which Huizar said will allow nearly every homeless person in the area without nightly shelter to have access to storage.
The other storage facility is located at 507 Towne Ave., and both are managed by the nonprofit organization Chrysalis.
The City Council last December approved $1.6 million to be spent to establish the San Pedro Street facility, which can be accessed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
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Last year, $20 million was approved by the City Council to create a "triage-like response" to assist homeless people in Skid Row with hygiene, storage and shelter.
The local nonprofit Art Share LA was commissioned to paint a mural on the new facility that will be designed and completed by artist Crushow Herring, a homeless resident of Skid Row.
