Pat Dixon can vividly recall her first introduction to Long Beach’s California Aquatic Therapy and Wellness Center.

The organization was hosting an event to showcase their various programs, and Dixon anticipated she would simply observe different individuals sharing their swim skills. But when she arrived, her role was to actually assist with placing medals on students and families in the pool after they shared touching stories of how the center had changed their lives.

She heard tales from disabled students taking first steps in the pool, and listened as elderly patients smiled and shared how the pool work eased aching joints. The experience moved Dixon, and demonstrated the power of the pool. Shortly after, she was invited to take the role of executive director for the organization, and has been watching the facility grow and flourish for the past 18 years.

“It really is a place of miracles,” said Dixon. “I get to see so many people experience the pool and witness how our programs improve their lives and make them smile.”

The mission of the California Aquatic Therapy and Wellness Center is to promote whole life wellness for the community in an accessible, warm-water aquatic facility. The pool is heated to a comfortable temperature of 91 to 94 degrees year-round, creating an ideal environment for therapy sessions and lessons for many types of groups, including those with physical and intellectual disabilities, the elderly, local school children, and especially those who have mobility challenges.

In 1963, the organization was incorporated and purchased an outdoor pool facility located at 6801 Long Beach Boulevard, in Long Beach. In 1977, a major renovation was completed to enclose the facility allowing for year-round usage. The nonprofit corporation later became the California Pools for the Handicapped, and in 1996, the California Pools of Hope, Inc.

“We are one of five longest-running nonprofits within the Long Beach community, and we are privileged to do this type of work,” said Dixon. “What really makes us unique is the heated pool, the varying programs we offer at affordable rates, and also the accessibility factor with our hydraulic lifts to assist those in wheelchairs.”

Pools for Hope works closely with local doctors and hospitals, as well as the surrounding regional centers, and even the local school district to develop and offer a wide array of rehabilitation programs. Nearly 50 percent of the annual 1,500 individuals it serves benefit from discounted memberships.

“We consider the pool a great melting pot,” said Dixon. “It’s not always easy to get into bathing suit, but we just tell people to come and try it. We serve people throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties and empower them to live better lives.”

While she notes the building is not new and modern, it is benefiting many, which fuels Dixon to secure funding for ongoing improvements. Her near-term goal includes trying to secure more parking, especially for those patients with disabilities to ease their transition from car to pool.

To learn more about Pools of Hope, and how to support, visit http://www.caaquatictherapy.com or call 310-293-7335.

I am incredibly saddened by the loss of my longtime friend Bill Rosendahl. His compassion, willingness to listen, and devotion to helping the most vulnerable were all the qualities you want in a representative. When I was the Mayor of Cerritos, Bill conducted my first public TV interview following the Cerritos Air Crash. His compassion and understanding for what the community and residents were going through helped the healing process begin, and fostered a great friendship that spanned 30 years. While Bill was on the city council, we worked together to solve a number of issues including Marina del Rey and LAX. He was the definition of a true public servant—doing everything he could to make the neighborhoods he represented a better place for everyone to live, work, and play. Bill’s family and loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers.

Miguel Hernandez is the first homeless veteran to benefit from the Landlord Veteran Incentive Program (Landlord VIP), administered by the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA). Hernandez received keys to his apartment on March 1, just one week after the unit passed inspection and the landlord received incentive monies.  

Hernandez proudly served four years in the United States Air Force, but like so many veterans, returned home and struggled to adapt to civilian life. He quickly found himself homeless, spending the last few years living in and out of hotel rooms in the Antelope Valley.

Even with the supportive services offered by People Assisting the Homeless’ (PATH) Veterans Connections Initiative, a partner of HACoLA, he struggled to find a home, encountering several landlords who were hesitant to rent to someone with a prior eviction.

The Landlord Veteran Incentive Program, which officially launched in January with the help of county funding, has been the solution Hernandez needed. It was designed to incentivize local LA County landlords with one month’s rental payment and an expedited process to get vetted veterans into an apartment who have secured a voucher through the Housing Authority.  

“This program is very good,” said Ka Mei Koo, the first landlord to utilize the incentive. “The veterans have a case manager to help them, and the program helps with the deposit so owners don’t need to worry about damages. An added bonus is I get to help a veteran that has fought for our nation.”

Incentivizes include one month’s rental payment to hold vacant units, and an expedited process to get veterans who have secured a VASH voucher through HACoLA, into an apartment or house. Landlords receive Fair Market Rent (FMR) amounts for the corresponding bedroom size of the unit being held.

With 4,000-plus homeless veterans in Los Angeles County, the challenge to find them housing and a stable place to live has been ongoing for years. On top of that, the number of available units is less than three percent in LA, placing homeless veterans at an even greater disadvantage since they are often competing with a population that doesn’t have some of the issues that come with having formerly served in the military.

“We needed to entice landlords to rent to a veteran,” said Margarita Lares, director for the LA County Housing Authority. “We understand the risks, but we’re hoping this incentive will encourage others to give it a try.”

Interested veterans are encouraged to contact the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center at (310) 478-3711. Landlords wanting to learn more about the program and the opportunity to help local veterans should e-mail HACoLA at LandlordVIP@hacola.org, or call (626) 586-1572. More information is also available on the website at www.hacola.org.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe is proud to announce that the County’s Safe Surrender Program celebrated success for the second time this month with the report of a safely surrendered newborn baby girl. This most recent Safe Surrender occurred on Monday, March 14 at a hospital in Santa Monica. A baby girl was also safely surrendered at a hospital in Los Angeles on March 7. As is standard practice, the newborn is in protective custody and will be placed with a family approved for adoption by the Department of Children and Family Services.

“I am thrilled that in the span of a week, two mothers made the better choice and gave their daughters a second chance at life by safely surrendering them at the hospital,” said Supervisor Knabe. “Thanks to the courage of these mothers, both girls now have the opportunity to grow up in a loving family.”

Despite the recent successes of the Safe Surrender program, some mothers who find themselves alone and in a desperate situation, feel like they have no options. This week, a mother who abandoned her baby near a Compton riverbed last November, was sentenced to 14 years in state prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder.

“The abandonment in Compton was a near tragedy that could have been completely avoided had the mother known she could safely surrender her baby,” said Supervisor Knabe. “It’s unconscionable to think that this mother had no one to turn to for help or guidance. These mothers often get pregnant in secret, hide their secret, and try to throw their secret away. Though we’ve been able to save the lives of 144 babies so far, we need to continue spreading the word that there is a safe, secure and anonymous way for mothers to get their baby into safe hands—at any fire station or hospital, any time—and protect them from abandonment—No Shame. No Blame. No Names.”

This is the second Safe Surrender in Los Angeles County in 2016, and the 144^th since the program began 15 years ago. The program was initiated by Supervisor Knabe and approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors in 2001. It allows someone to surrender an infant that is no more than three days old, as long as the infant shows no signs of abuse.

To learn more about the Safe Surrender Program, visit BabySafeLA.org.

While the fight against child sex trafficking in Los Angeles County continues in our streets and neighborhoods, we are facing a new front in the war to end the commercial sexual exploitation of our young victims: the internet.

Last week, the Sheriff’s Department announced the arrests of three people who abducted and assaulted a young woman with the intent of selling her. They took photos of the victim and posted them on Backpage, a well known website that pimps and traffickers use to post classified ads of girls and sell them for sex.

This site is a marketplace for depraved child rapists, scumbag pimps, and predators to prey on young children who are forced to sell their bodies for sex night after night. Despite Visa and Mastercard pulling their support for Backpage, ads featuring juvenile girls continue to populate the site. Let me be clear: Backpage profits from the sale of children for sex and they’ve shown neither remorse nor a willingness to stop. Backpage has ignored multiple subpoenas related to an online sex trafficking investigation involving the site.

This Tuesday, I will ask the Board of Supervisors to ask our legislative staff in Washington, D.C. to support the passage of a Senate resolution to initiate civil contempt proceedings against Backpage. Many of our young victims here in Los Angeles County have been bought and sold on Backpage. Forcing Backpage to comply with the investigation will hopefully help stymie one of the most active and lucrative avenues for sex trafficking in the country.

There was a time – not so long ago – when the U.S. Postal Services refused to deliver mail to Andy Street, a one-block community comprised of 24 multi-family dwelling units located in the northeast section of Long Beach.

The drugs, gangs and violence were simply too much. Even the Long Beach Police Department had labeled it as a “hot spot” for crime in 2002, with multiple calls coming in daily for gunshots, murder and theft.

Fast forward to present day, and so much has changed, in large part to the efforts of LaVerne Duncan and the Andy Street Community Association (ASCA), a nonprofit that responded to a failed community and empowered it to create a better, safer, more vibrant space.

“It has taken a long time,” said Duncan, now executive director for Andy Street and an original member of the task force created to respond to the neighborhood’s issues back in 2002. “But we have come so far since those dark days.”

Since its inception, ASCA’s presence in the North Long Beach community has been a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization. Landlords were trained to work with the community, invest in security and landscaping, and partner with their tenants. Additionally, partnerships were built with the community and the Long Beach Police Department. As Duncan notes, everyone had a role to play. No one got a free pass.

Today, there is still the occasional police call, but they tend to be about loud music or other minor disruptions – not the violent crimes experienced so often in the early 2000s.

As such, the focus of Andy Street has evolved. With a safer community, Duncan and a few of her community partners have shifted to creating programs to support the youth in the neighborhood, investing in helping them recognize the importance of shaping their neighborhood’s success, and also delivering programs to inspire them to grow.

“Currently we have our music academy, where we offer free music lessons to children in the area,” said Duncan. “Instruments are provided, the kids learn how to read music and we are fortunate to have Charles Julian Fearing, a multi-platinum selling songwriter working with the students.”

Additionally, ASCA is bringing back cooking classes this spring to teach children the basics of healthy eating, meal prep and how to make their own meals. Molina Healthcare, based in Long Beach, has offered up their corporate kitchen to host the classes, and a local Wal-Mart will donate ingredients.

“Not every kid is going to play football and basketball,” said Duncan. “We want to give them different options to pursue, and expose them to other areas to get inspired and learn.”

ASCA has also funded seven scholarships via their annual fundraisers, helping local youth with expenses to attend college.

“Youth is our future, and we need to keep offering quality life programming to get our kids successful and striving to reach goals,” said Duncan.

ASCA touches an average of 75 to 100 kids annually, and all funding is directed to programming.

“It has been so rewarding to see the Andy Street neighborhood come so far through the years,” said LA County Supervisor Don Knabe. “Today, they serve as a blueprint for similar communities in the county that struggle with crime, violence, unemployment and beyond. LaVerne and her team should be commended for the transformation. It is truly amazing, and a testament to what can be achieved when the community comes together and forms partnerships to change.”

To learn more about Andy Street, and how you can support or participate in its efforts, visit andystreetlb.org.