-ISSUES

AND SOLUTIONS- 2012 Year in Review Upon the ending of 2012, we at ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS celebrate a milestone with the completion of five (5) calendar years of volunteer community activism on behalf of the Skid Row residents, all completed with ZERO funding! In comparison- When a small business asks a bank for a small business loan, one of the first questions the bank asks in return is What is your 3-5 year business plan? Without any previous track record in Skid Row in 2007, we realized that many of our actions could and would be questioned regarding our intent- not only by the residents, but more importantly by the Skid Row non-profits that also claim to have the residents best interests at heart. Now, with the completion of our first five calendar years, we feel that we have solidified our intent as well as firmly established our organizations foundation from which we intend to build upon for many years to come! We publicly say Thank You to all of the individuals, agencies and organizations that have supported our efforts in a variety of ways, most of whom didnt do it for the notoriety, but instead because they believed in the sincerity of our efforts. And with that, we share with you the following SUMMARY of a portion of what we accomplished this past year. DISCLAIMER: Please keep in mind that the names of any individuals and/or organizations mentioned in this document have NO influence on or political attachment whatsoever to, our actions and are merely mentioned in order to give the most detailed and accurate account of that particular event.

 JANUARY 2012: + Supported our own General Jeff as he was voted by committee members to become Co-Chair of the Skid Row Community Advisory Board for the Department of Mental Health. + Worked effortlessly behind the scenes in conjunction with event co-organizer General Jeff to create the Operation Skid Row Music Festival, which featured over 30 performing acts, including Skid Row residents, and was headlined by rap icons Public Enemy, who were recently inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (Class of 2013). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrSmVo6Rnao FEBRUARY 2012: + Invited to and spoke on behalf of Skid Row residents during a California Legislative Hearing in Sacramento regarding the restructuring of the Behavioral Health system for the entire State of California. + Organized the 1st ever Skid Row Hip-Hop Summit, which was a follow-up to the Operation Skid Row Music Festival where the Hip-Hop community, including Public Enemy, pledged their on-going support of addressing many of Skid Rows issues, such as mental illness, which led to a discussion about a statewide African- American CRDP mental health report from lead researcher Dr. Diane Woods.

http://goo.gl/4ajdd

+ Supported our own General Jeff, who first co-founded Skid Row grass-roots community clean-up effort Operation:Facelift/Skid Row in 2008, as the Skid Row residents decided to attempt to clean-up their own community again due to increasing amounts of trash build-up from the on-going homeless feedings.

MARCH 2012: + Contacted LA County Health Department on behalf of Skid Row residents that complained of mold and mildew in several of their older SRO hotels. + Coordinated a candlelight vigil in Skid Row for slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin, whose controversial death impacted millions of people across America.

http://mayorofskidrow.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/skid-rowhonors-trayvon-martin-rip/
+ Celebrated the successful end of our 4-year battle to end Overnight Guest Fees in all SRO low-income hotels in Skid Row. Overnight Guest Fees were an extra fee charged to Skid Row tenants for each visitor(s) in addition to regular monthly rent. Amount varied depending on the price set by each of the Skid Row landlords. APRIL 2012: + Coordinated and organized the entire travel itinerary for a Skid Row contingency that traveled to Fresno for a two-day statewide mental health conference. + Publicly applauded LAPDs Central Division and several City of Los Angeles agencies that came to the rescue of a mentally-ill woman who climbed into a trash compactor in order to retrieve her personal belongings that were accidentally thrown away. The entire dumpster was emptied and the woman was able to recapture her birth certificate, childhood photos and other irreplaceable personal effects. + Coordinated, along with a current California prison inmate, the Choicisions project which is a letter-writing campaign to reach at-risk youth where inmates make amends to society by helping to guide troubled youth in the right direction in their lives. + Attended Korean-American group SAIGUs 20th-anniversary event Remembering the 1992 LA Riots to help bridge the gap/improve race relations between Blacks and Koreans.

MAY 2012: + Represented Skid Row residents at a City Hall presentation honoring those that participated in the monthly clean-ups of the public park at the new LAPD Police Administration Building. + Connected good friend model/actress Claudia Jordan with LAUSDs Homeless Education Program so that homeless female high-school students could receive donated prom dresses courtesy of Claudias Closet. + Attended statewide veterans coalition conference in San Diego on behalf of Skid Rows homeless vets. + Gave a Skid Row Tour to staff members of Mayor Villaraigosas office which ultimately led to LA Countys 32-page health report citing the City of Los Angeles as responsible for the high concentrations of Human urine and feces, rat infestations and hundreds of hypodermic needles located throughout the streets of Skid Row. + Addressed a letter to the entire mental health industry urging them to forever refrain from labeling mental health clients as consumers now that some have been invited by industry leaders to help create the necessary solutions that will ultimately replace their current treatment tactics..Encouraged to now refer to them as end users. + Contacted Assurance Wireless about their nationwide low income cell phone program on behalf of Skid Row residents..We were told that this program was NOT available in California. + Contacted SRO Housing Corporation to meet and discuss the possibilities of painting our Positive Murals project on the empty walls of their buildings throughout the Skid Row community. + Supported our General Jeff as he joined an esteemed panel, including Rodney King, at the California African-American Museum to discuss the 1992 LA RiotsThis was the last public appearance for Mr. King who passed only a few weeks later.

http://t.co/exxl8HtU

JUNE 2012: + Interviewed by Associated Press regarding LA Countys 32-page health report which found Skid Row to be contaminated with high concentrations of Human waste, rat infestations and hypodermic needles..Story went national.led to City of Los Angeles creating their own Operation Healthy Streets clean-up effort.

 JULY 2012: + Spoke in Beverly Hills with staff member of Donald Sterling (owner of NBA sports team Los Angeles Clippers) regarding trash on his property in Skid Row on 6th street and San Julian street. + Supported Dr. Diane Woods and AAHI-SBC as they officially released their findings and recommendations related to the CRDP African-American population report on mental health, which also included a case study on the Skid Row communitys positive movement. + Invited by and spoke before the National Medical Association during their annual national conference in New Orleans on behalf of the Skid Row residents about our communitys positive movement. AUGUST 2012: + Attended the California Authority High Speed Rail meeting in Sacramento to discuss the possibilities of job creation for Skid Row residents whose field of expertise is in the construction field. + Spoke out on behalf of Skid Row residents in recovery against Skid Row landlord Skid Row Housing Trust as they applied for alcohol permit/liquor license.Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils vote was in non-support of Skid Row Housing Trust s request for letter of support. + Met with AEG Human Resources Director at Staples Center to discuss the possibilities of creating a construction job pipeline for Skid Row residents whose field of expertise is construction which would be directly in relations to the construction of the brand-new Farmers Field football stadium/events center in Downtown LA. + Coordinated an important Tell All Town Hall meeting at the Scientology Community Center in South Central Los Angeles to discuss African-American mental illness which also featured a panel of esteemed guests and expertsMoments before the doors were set to open, Scientology staff influenced the immediate cancelation of the event. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly1r8ourzv4&feature=player_embedded

+ Congratulated our own General Jeff as he was awarded and officially recognized as a west coast Hip-Hop pioneer at the West Coast Hip-Hop Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center. SEPTEMBER 2012: + Gave a guest lecture to architectural students at Woodbury University in Burbank, CaliforniaAlso worked with Professor Lara Hoad to create the syllabus for the design studio class which focused on what family housing in Skid Row would and could look like. + Created the Feed n Clean campaign in response to the Downtown Clergy Councils demands of ending all homeless feedings in Skid Row..Skid Row residents heavily supported this as a positive way to address the trash issue created by homeless feedings instead of stopping the feedings altogether.
Please visit: www.facebook.com/OperationFaceLiftSkidRow

OCTOBER 2012: + Invited by staff at Little Tokyo Service Center to represent the Skid Row 3on3 Streetball League during a Prop K site visit with the Department of Recreation and Parks regarding the Budokan of LA recreation center/gymnasium in Little Tokyo. + Invited to present and speak twice at the American Public Health Associations 140th annual national conference in San Francisco to discuss the Skid Row residents positive movement.

 + Spoke with good friend and R&B music legend El DeBarge during the A Taste of Soul event on Crenshaw Boulevard in South Central LA about organizing a music performance event for the Skid Row residents. NOVEMBER 2012: + Gave a guest lecture to students at UC Santa Barbaratopic was current issues in the Skid Row community and our positive movement. + Supported our own General Jeff in his successful re-election to the Board of Directors for the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council for a third term (2008-present). NOTE: A major additional accomplishment was achieved during this election period when we worked extensively to secure guarantees for ALL Skid Row residents to be able to vote via self-affirmation that they resided in Skid Row (think: homeless). City attorneys office then shared their intention to expand this homeless allowance citywide. + Contacted CBS/Decaux regarding a billboard in Skid Row that advertised alcohol..Billboard was removed in less than six hours. + Supported our own General Jeff as he publicly blasted the United Way and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, who together created the Los Angeles Business Leaders Task Force on Homelessness and through their ambitious project Home For Good which first launched two years ago in November 2010, they continue to claim that they will end all homelessness in LA in 5 years..General Jeff has demanded a public apology from all of them on several occasions for lying to ALL homeless folks in Los Angeles, which also happens to be the homeless capitol of America..They continue to refuse to do so.They only have three years left to accomplish their task.

 DECEMBER 2012: + Invited by Little Tokyo Service Center to join their special events committee to help promote their upcoming event An evening with NBA Legend Jerry West, which is also a fundraiser for the Bodokan of LA recreation center/gymnasium project.

 We would also like to say Thank You to all the individuals, grass-roots organizations and community groups that helped us to achieve this years efforts. We would also like to point out that we no longer list individuals by name, nor list any other entities, to ensure that the support given to us is sincere and with the sole purpose of benefiting the Skid Row communitys residents. We look forward to an even BIGGER and MORE successful 2013! Sincerely, The Entire Staff at ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS CONTACT US: E-mail: issuesandsolutions@yahoo.com Twitter: @GoSkidRowGo