Knurish Weyker just could not hold back the tears. ” I just want to say thank you, thank you guys. For me, this has made all the difference.” Weyker is one of the current residents at Wellness Village, and no longer being unhoused is what makes all the difference.
At a modest gathering on August 16, 2024, the site originally known as “Safe Sleep” celebrated its first birthday as “Wellness Village.” Housing and Human Services Director Tevis Barnes offered that “It has not even truly been a full year; a year ago, this was a parking lot, with a whole lot of boxes over there, over in the corner…and some wooden pallets, and not much else. So in nine months, we have done a lot to create this place, and look where we are today. In nine months, we have impacted lives.”
The numbers we3re very hopeful. “We have had 66 unhoused neighbors here, and and 36 guests have transitioned through here. Some folks have been reunited with families, some have gone into treatment, and some have gone into Project Homekey. We have been able to change some lives.”
Kirkpatrick Tyler, Urban Alchemy’s Chief of Government and Community Affairs spoke from the podium, “It took a year of us believing in one another, a year of us really seeing each other, and believing that something better is possible.”
Everyone who spoke highlighted the work of Carrie Bell, the Program Director for Wellness Village. Carrie spoke for only a moment, gently chiding Tyler for bringing her to the microphone. “I thought you all had my back, but no, you are going to have me get up in front and talk.” Bell’s modestly in the face of so many effusive compliments from her colleagues reflected just what had been said about her; she wasn’t much on taking credit, but she was big on getting the work done.
Council members Goran Eriksson and Albert Vera, Jr. were also present to congratulate the staff and support team for the success of the project, and confirm the city’s continuing support.
Wellness Village is unique in Culver City, with 20 transitional ‘suites’ and round the clock support services, including meals, showers, laundry and – most importantly – health care.
Benjamin Yu, of the Mobile Crisis Unit, was also on hand, and offered that they had been able to place individuals into Wellness Village with positive results. “The MCU is averaging about 15 calls a day, and having a facility like this for support is unique.”
The combination of mobile crisis and support services at Wellness Village meets the needs of the unhoused.
Barnes offered ” We are looking forward to the next 365 dys of amazing transformations.”
Judith Martin-Straw
