The Mirage On Skid Row

A very powerful investigative article in the LA Weekly is currently on the stands about Donald Sterling’s foray into the world of homeless services.

Donald Sterling is the LA real estate mogul and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team. For the past couple of years, Sterling has been paying for large advertisements in the Los Angeles Times announcing a new $50 million homeless service center in downtown skid row. Those ads are expensive—at $5,000-$10,000 per ad, he has paid significantly to run this PR campaign.

But no one seems to know what this is all about. The article reveals an interesting perspective on how politics, money, and power affect homeless services—particularly in downtown Los Angeles.

Here are a few excerpts from the article that refer to my take on all of this:

…Joel John Roberts, chief executive officer of People Assisting the Homeless — which briefly talked with a Sterling middleman about the project — sums up the bewilderment spreading through the homeless-activist community, saying, “I don’t know what his motives are.”

…Things went quiet for a few months, and then in October 2006, real estate agent turned Skid Row liaison Luster reached out on Sterling’s behalf again. This time he contacted Joel John Roberts, executive director of People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), asking if he was interested in a partnership with Sterling. Roberts said he was willing to listen.

Unlike the drawn-out vetting process Midnight Mission went through, negotiations between Sterling and PATH were much more substantive and direct. Within a month, Sterling’s people offered Roberts terms for a possible deal. One main sticking point was that Sterling would “lend” the property at 600 Wall Street to PATH, rather than donate it to the group.

Roberts wasn’t thrilled about that — it left PATH with no real security if it agreed to launch a major homeless program at a building site it didn’t own. “If Sterling decided he wanted to sell the property or move us out,” Roberts says, “he would be able to do it with no problem.”

…And here was the strangest part of all: PATH would be responsible for raising the $50 million to build the Donald T. Sterling Homeless Center. Not Sterling. “They hinted they would help us raise the money,” recalls Roberts, with a tinge of distrust in his voice.

Roberts quickly sought the advice of Larry Adamson at Midnight Mission, who stressed the importance of detailed contracts. In addition to his other concerns about Sterling’s ideas, Roberts wanted “permanent” rather than “transitional” housing.

In November 2006, Roberts sent Luster a “formal e-mail,” stating the acceptable terms for a partnership. And, no surprise, he especially wanted billionaire Sterling’s offer to help with fund-raising — and he wanted it in writing. “We never heard back from them,” Roberts says.

(Pic from http://www.laweekly.com/)