Much-loved Glendale recently moved a large downtown homeless shelter to the industrial outskirts of the city and even the shelter's staff seems happy about the new location: "At least it's away from the community," Alfred Hernandez, an outreach director for homeless service provider Ascencia told the Glendale News-Press. One can only imagine how battered by complaints the Ascencia staff must be to openly admit such a thing; you can practically hear the sigh in his voice. When Ascencia's winter shelter was housed at the Glendale National Guard Armory downtown, everyone from downtown business owners to people doing Tai Chi in nearby Central Park would bitch about the residents (there's a Portlandia skit there). Since moving this winter to a temporary shelter on Fernando Court, the number of complaints has dropped and most now concern things like couch-dumping, loitering, and public waste. Ascencia staff is looking to alleviate those issues by moving a waiting line, discouraging hanging out in front of a restaurant, and encouraging the use of nearby restroom facilities (portable toilets are more trouble than they're worth, according to staff).
· Report: Move of shelter to city's outskirts reduce complaints [Glendale News-Press]
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