Evidence of Homeslessness in Echo Park

By: Deann Coleman

The first day I entered Echo Park I parked near Echo Lake. Many people were present taking advantage of the beautiful lake stretching, running, walking, pushing baby carriages around the lake. As I walked up the incline toward the El Centro del Pueblo Center I saw men sitting in the park a bit tattered, but didn’t really see anything that would indicate they were homeless. However, later in the afternoon this whole scene would look different.
During our first day of walking through Echo Park I saw a car parked in a public parking lot behind a store. It was filled with garbage bags and the woman in the car wore a scarf on her head, seemed to be in her fifties with a very dark complexion. She looked like she was living in her car, but I can’t really confirm or deny this assumption.
Later in the afternoon when leaving Echo Park the park was filled with about 12-15 men and women sitting and sleeping on the grass. One could assume they were homeless carrying large garbage bags, bag packs and blankets. The entire scene and afternoon population of the Echo Lake changed. The elderly adults, mothers with their children and exercise conscience individuals were gone. Space was now occupied by these individuals who utilized the grass as a resting place. My heart was overwhelmed.
The second day in Echo Park I parked closer to the El Centro del Pueblo Center. Walking through this more affluent and historic section of the neighborhood I saw no evidence of homelessness, until we headed back down Glendale Blvd under Hollywood Freeway. Directly under the bridge there were blankets, bags and clothes spread over about 30 feet. It was obvious that people had made this space under the freeway their home. Also, as I walked past another section of the Echo Lake there were socks and shirts hanging off a tree limb apparently drying in the sun. I saw several individuals lying in the grass covered with black blankets. I couldn’t tell if they were male or female or if several people were under the blankets. I only knew that they seemed to be homeless with large back packs surrounding them.
After our walk ended, we went to lunch on Sunset Blvd where I saw a homeless man, dark complexion, messy hair and facial hair, wearing clothes that were torn and dingy and shabby shoes. He was pushing a store carriage filled with garbage bags, blankets and other items I could not identify. Obvious indicators of homelessness in Echo Park were people living under the freeway, sleeping in Echo Park, washing their clothes in the Echo Lake, living out of their car and walking the street pushing a steel store carriage however the full extent of homelessness is unknown.
I am not sure what public government services located in Echo Park are available to the homeless, however there are two churches that reach out to these individuals. The Cathedral Center of St. Paul Episcopal Church has a soup kitchen according to one of our team leaders however I was unable to see evidence of this on their website which is http://www.cathedralcenter.com/intro.html The Dream Center also located in Echo Park did have evidence of the assistance offered to the homeless in Echo Park on their website. Their website is http://www.dreamcenter.org/outreach/homeless/index.html
According to their website they reach out to the homeless providing food, clothes, vocational training, recovery assistance and shelter.

Social Networks

By: Rosemary Oliva, Ileana Galvez, and Jacqueline Garcia

The Echo Park Lake was a reservoir in the 1800’s. It was not until the late 1890’s that the man-made lake was created. The lake was not well received during its early years. However, the park became a major attraction in the early 1920’s. It is known for the lotus bed that used to sit on the west side of the lake. The flowers disappeared a few years ago, and no one is quite sure why. In 1972, the Lotus Festival at Echo Park originated. Because of lack of funds the festival was on hiatus this year, and was celebrated as The Echo Park Community Festival. The park attracted many Latino immigrant families in the 1970’s and 1980’s. It has been used for birthday parties, family picnics, and holiday celebrations. The Echo Park Lake is a Los Angeles monument.

I spoke with two Echo Park residents, Jose and Janet, about their experience in the community and their thoughts about the lake. Jose was born in El Salvador and has been living in Echo Park for the past fifteen years. He likes to come to the park early in the morning before going to work. As we talked, walkers and runners said hello to him. There is definitely a sense of community at the park. Jose expressed that there are more Latino walkers and runners in the mornings, and that the park becomes more diverse in the evenings. Also, the Lotus Festival was one of the first things he mentioned. He passionately described the festival and the lotus bed that was once part of the park. When asked if he knew about services available to community members, he responded by mentioning that there are homeless in the area and that the Midnight Mission serves food at the park once a week. Jose then talked about safety. Years ago, on a visit to the lake, his car was stolen. With the exception of this experience, he has had an overall positive experience in Echo Park.

Janet, a young Latina, runs at the park occasionally and has been going to Echo Park Lake since she was a little girl. Growing up, she remembers celebrating Easter and 4^th of July at the park. “Things are not the same”, Jane says. She has noticed a decrease in the number of Latino families at the park. Still, she likes that Echo Park is becoming diverse. One of her close friends is Caucasian and from New York. Despite the changes she has observed in the neighborhood and the park, Janet says she will continue to live in Echo Park and run by the lake.

The Echo Park Lake brings back countless memories to many people. This is why Jose visits the lake every morning and why Janet runs around the park.

I asked a young man at the library if he knew where the polling place was, and he said that he did not know because his family and he do not vote. After that I asked him who his city council person or county commissioner was and he did not know the answer. After interviewing him I asked a young woman if she knew where the polling place was and she told me it was in the elementary school in front of her house. I asked her if she voted and she said that she did not because her family did not vote regularly. I asked her if she knew who her city council person or county commissioner was and she said no. From the interviews that I conducted I have concluded that most Echo Park residents do not much about politics.

In the community walk I did not see many campaign signs. I only saw a council meeting agenda posted in the public library’s entrance. While walking through the city I only saw voting applications at the library and at the post office. I saw a small political sticker on a convenience store’s door, and several bumper stickers on a car. From my observations of this community it seems like the majority of the residents are not politically involved.

Within the community of Echo Park, there are several forms of security systems present. In the commercial areas of the community, there are various forms of security such as: cameras inside and outside of the businesses, oversized mirrors, security personnel, barbed wire fences, and other styles of fences guarding the entrance of the business when closed to customers. In the residential areas of Echo Park there are a variety of security systems utilized. For example, in the impoverished neighborhoods of Echo Park there are many “beware of dog, keep out, private property, and no trespassing” signs visible.

Also, another form of security in these neighborhoods consists of wrought iron fences surrounding the houses. However, in the wealthier neighborhoods, there are a vast number of “neighborhood watch, select patrol, and security company” signs outside of the houses.

Community Assets and Risks

By: Vanessa Espinosa and Alyssa Lia Mancao
The community of Echo Park can be described as a colorful city that takes pride in its diversity and social networks. Assets, as well as risks, are visible and sometimes hidden throughout the neighborhoods. Churches, community centers, diverse family-owned restaurants are among few elements that enrich the city. The churches and community centers offer an array of support, such as Parenting classes, counseling, daycare, to the vulnerable population in the community. During an interview with the United Methodist Church Historian, he expressed his pride in being part of a diverse congregation. The Methodist church, one of many locations of worship in Echo Park, has been in the community for over 100 years. It provides its community with Bible Study classes, outings to plays, Narcotics and Alcoholic Anonymous meeting.


Another asset is the community is art, which is evidenced by beautiful murals throughout the town and posted flyers promoting art shows or events. Peter Shire’s art studio located in a renovated mechanic shop brings character to the Echo Park, as well.

Hidden gems in the neighborhood include the Victorian home area where houses located on and around Carroll Street are maintained in its original form. You will also find Los Angeles Dodgers t-shirts, hats or car accessories displayed proudly throughout the city. The fans in Echo Park take pride in living near the Dodgers stadium and several of them gather before and after the games in the neighborhood bars and restaurants.



One of the most visible benefits of Echo Park is its lake. The Echo Park Lake is a gathering spot where individuals and families relax, exercise, walk their dogs, and socialize in a peaceful and safe location. Echo Park is also the site of the annual Lotus Fair, which celebrates Chinese culture and attracts several Chinese Americans. Key facilities and programs found in the city are Gateways Mental Health Hospital and El Centro del Pueblo. Gateways provides in-patient, and outpatients services to mental ill adolescents and adults while El Centro provides counseling services to youths, job training, family preservation, and alcoholism & AIDS prevention.

While the numerous organizations, facilities, landmarks, and scenic views enhance Echo Park, the ostensible risk factors in the neighborhood attempts to take away from the beauty that surrounds it. There were several billboards, vacant lots, and businesses that were inundated with graffiti and gang- type markings.

Furthermore, homeless individuals were seen walking along various streets, with shopping cars filled with all of their belongings. Other homeless individuals were seen sleeping in front of the American Apparel Store, and at the Echo Park lake. Firefighter, Clock, stated that there will be an increase of homelessness in Echo Park. This is because the homeless individual’s occupying McCarthur park have been asked to leave and thus they have traveled to Echo Park. Other risks in the neighborhood include vacant lots, and several homes and businesses with bars on their windows, to prevent any unwanted visitors. There were even homes who had bars on the windows that were located on the second floor. While driving around in Officer Ford’s police car, he had driven us past a neighborhood that was known for their gang violence and incidences of rival shooting. Furthermore, while interviewing a young 18 year old community member of Echo Park, she had informed us that while she loved living in the neighborhood, she felt unsafe at night because of all of the gang activity. She had also mentioned that her friend had gotten shot by a stray bullet during a conflict between gang members, just a few blocks away from her house. Much of the risk factors seen in Echo Park can be attributed to homelessness and gang activity.

Identity, Civic Engagement, and Common Fate

By: Andrew Ollero and Katharina Pick

Upon exploring the Echo Park community I discussed the political climate with our instructor Sara Jimenez-McSwain and our community liaison Sofia. According to Sofia, there is both a mix of progressive and liberal individuals and conservative families. Most of the liberal individuals are the younger generations who have recently moved into the Echo Park community. However, the younger first-generation young adults also identify as more liberal than there parents. Sophia also indicated that many poorer families also have more traditional views that make them more apt to be politically conservative.

Our community informants also discussed local issues that affect their community. The issue that was discussed numerous times by our informants and other community members were gang activity and involvement. Numerous community organizations that service community offer some time of gang aversion program that help youth get off the streets and into various programs spanning from community service, arts, and sports.

Other issues of importance that members of the community discussed were the housing issues including foreclosures and the cost of housing. The concept of gentrification became a running theme as our immersion group observed new developments next to more “run-down” lots. It seems that much of the issues raised are more geared towards affecting change in the immediate locality as opposed to creating systemic change at a higher level.


Some of the newspapers available in Echo Park are: The Daily News, LA Times, La Opinion, and the LA Downtown News. Some establishments also offered gay friendly magazines and newspapers including: Adelante & Frontiers.

The community holds several meetings that allow citizen input. These committees include: Bylaws & Rules, Budget & Finance, Grievance Committee, and the Executive Committee. These committees hold various meetings throughout the community and provide a forum to voice community concerns. However upon discussing these forums with Sofia, there appears to be significant stakeholders in the community that wield much of the powers of the committees. The board does not seem diverse and many of the members serve on multiple committee boards.



Many of the local organizations offered opportunities to become involved. One local restaurant, Masa, incorporated service opportunities on their take-out menus. Groups within churches are also available to promote service. In addition the services provided by El Centro del Pueblo, Echo Park hosts multiple festivals and farmers markets that request for volunteers.



Art was unmistakeably a source of community pride and identity. Even while many buildings, street signs, and artworks were covered in graffiti, some works of art and expression seemed to transcend the gang and cultural identity divisions that plague the community. For example, Sophia pointed out a mural of a girl celebrating her Quinciniera. It covered the entire side of a building. It had been completely untouched by taggers or any other kind of vandalism. She noted that people seem to leave it alone. It seems that perhaps the community identifies with it, whether it is the direct relation to the mural, the respect for the history of the community, or the respect for the art itself.

Art under highway 101 showed a similar contrast. Huge portraits covered the pillars under the highway. They were impressive and equally untouched. These little signs of pride seem to be important and say something about the community's sense of having an identity that is worth protecting and a sense of common fate.

Local Facilities

By: Haley Stokols and Grace King

Echo Park has a variety of service agencies throughout the community. The building structures of these various agencies do not stand out, but rather fit in with the other building structures around. To name a few, there were agencies for citizen’s personal use, such as an income tax company, family services, HIV testing and a key shop. Several of the shops had gated windows, but otherwise were pretty discrete and integrated with the rest of the shops around.

We didn’t come across any major shopping centers, big retails stores or malls. There were a couple of small Mexican markets, but much of the shopping seemed to be store-front and street-shops, as opposed to larger enclosed stores one might find at malls are major shopping centers in other places.

On our route through Echo Park there was one major chain grocery story – Vons - but other than that, there were mostly just small convenience stores

.

There is a main public library in Echo Park called Edandale Library. (website link - http://www.lapl.org/index.html) It was actually a very good sized and decent looking library; quite impressive. There was a nice children’s section where kids could quietly play and read, there were many computers for people to use, and of course, a myriad of books to read from all categories. There was also a section where information about community events, news and updates was posted, which served as great resources for people interested in keeping abreast of the happenings, issues and actions in the community.

Although our walking routes did not pass any schools, there is an Echo Park Elementary school located on 14100 County Rd. It seems to be a pretty comprehensive school with opportunities for parent involvement and extracurricular activities and classes for the kids. More information about this school can be found on their website pasted below.

http://www.district196.org/ep/

Echo Park has many banks. One of the first banks we came across during our community immersion walk was Citibank on Sunset Blvd. There is also a Bank of American on Sunset, a Los Angeles National Bank also on Sunset, and a Wells Fargo on Alvarado. This makes it possible for community members to choose between banks based on their financial preferences – whereas in a space where there is only one bank easily accessed community members have less (or no) options.

The hospitals in Echo park are: Barlow Respiratory Hospital, located at 2000 Stadium way; Gateway HospitalMental Health Center, located at 1891 Effie St.; and City of Angels Medical Center, more recently named Silver Lake Medical Center, located at 1711 W Temple St. The Silver Lake Medical Center is the only hospital in Echo Park that does not offer acute services only, seeing as Barlow Respiratory Hospital offers respiratory care and Gateway Hospital offers care for patients suffering from illnesses related to mental health. Silver Lake Medical Center is a 117-bed facility and is community based. It offers inpatient and surgical procedures as well as a variety of outpatient procedures. The center is readily available using the DASH, public transportation that costs only 25 cents, and also has MTA stops out front. In additon there is ample parking at the site. and

In Echo Park there is no city hall or local courthouse. This may be difficult for community members who would like to bring up a grievance with city hall, or for members who may be involved with the law and need to reach the courthouse. There are a number of reasons community members may need to reach these places, and for that reason it is unfortunate that they are not readily accessible. However, during our immersion walk our guide did inform us that Councilman Eric Garcetti has an office in the building where Citibank is located on Sunset Blvd.

There are many gas stations in the Echo Park. Among them are the Gas Express and the Sunset 76 stations located on Sunset Blvd. In addition to gas stations for automobile users, there are public buses and cabs in the community.

The DASH is a bus that only costs 25 cents, making its services available to a much wider community than other public buses that have much higher rates. The only downside to using the DASH as one’s main form of transportation is that it can be behind schedule or overcrowded – making it difficult to arrive at one’s destination at a determined time. The DASH in Echo Park connects with Pico Union.

Insider's Perspective

By: Ingrid Estrada and Reginald Ross

While walking through Echo Park, one can quickly deduce that a rapidly growing diverse group of people call this community their home. During our walk through the various neighborhoods within Echo Park, we came across people of various backgrounds such as Caucasian, Latino, African-American, Asian, and Middle Eastern. Some of these "insiders" had been living in this community for generations (for example: Peter Shire, a local artist and his family) while others were new residents or immigrants from another country.

When asked to give reasons why her and her husband remain living in Echo Park, Donna, Peter's wife, praised its central location in Los Angeles and their ability to get anywhere fairly quickly, for example the beach, Pasadena, and Downtown L.A. True to her explanation, the community of Echo Park is surrounded by 3 major freeways (the 2, 101 and 110) and bisected by Sunset Blvd, which reaches from Downtown to Malibu Beach. A young college student we interviewed in the library explained that he loved living there because of the night life at local clubs and bars like "The Echo" and "Barragan's Cantina," but also expressed how he would ultimately like to move to a "nicer and safer" neighborhood.

Local graffiti clean up crew

The youngest person we interviewed was Miguel, a 12 year old resident who took part of a graffiti clean up crew during the summer vacation months. His favorite things about Echo Park included the Echo Park Lake, the community pools, how his friends lived nearby and the restaurants. He mentioned that some of the things he disliked about his neighborhood were some of the dirty streets, the tagged walls and dark alleys where "gang members hang out."

All Echo Park residents expressed a deep satisfaction with their community and its available resources, restaurants, and recreational activities despite a sense of danger at night due to gangs who reside in the area. Although still a concern, violent activity in Echo Park has significantly decreased, according to a local law enforcement agent who spoke to us on our second visit. Ultimately, local "insiders" love their community because of its history, the diversity of the people who reside there and all day and nighttime activities available.

Video of local, Tupac Zapata, as he explores Echo Park Lake

Links to some of the places locals enjoy:

the echo and echoplex

Echo Park Lake

City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (Echo Deep Pool)

Evidence of Diversity

By Angela Rivera

In the community of Echo Park one can visually notice a diverse population within people, cultures, and lifestyle.

Located throughout the community Echo Park caters to an array of people; one can find a multiplicity of food available such as French, Italian, Haitian, Thai, Mexican, and American. Walking or even driving through the community one can see how diversity has been implemented into the city by the billboards, signs, and murals written in different languages other than English.

Along with food and marketing one can notice the diversity of Echo Park through the religious affiliations that are present in the community such as the Echo Park United Methodist Church, Angelus Temple, and St. Paul Cathedral. There is a vast amount of evidence displaying the mixture of people and cultures that reside within Echo Park, general interactions amongst community members seemed pleasant and peaceful. Echo Park is a clear indication that California truly is a melting pot of diversity.

By: Stephanie Fishman

Walking around Echo Park, I noticed that there were many types of people living there. Sofia, our community immersion liaison, told us that Echo Park was mainly composed up of Cubans, Latinos, and Asian people and that more and more Caucasians are moving into the community. I noticed that this was very accurate. However, from an outsider's perspective, it seemed to me that the Latino culture was most dominate in the community. There are many Mexican restaurants in the neighborhood and it seemed as though most of the signs posted had Spanish translations. Interestingly enough though, most of the people who worked in the agencies and mental health facilities that we visited seemed to be White. Overall, it was clear that race was not a source of conflict in the community. It seemed as though Echo Park was working together to improve their environment. It was so nice to see all the organizations created in the neighborhood to make the community a better place to live. If anything, the diversity of Echo Park makes it a more interesting and desirable place to live.

Outsider's Perspective

By Wendy Gudiel, La Keishia Childers, and Tiffany Curlee

The Echo Park community was very diverse in its residents and its appearance. There was a mix of races and a range of ages. The homes were also diverse. Carroll Street is filled with Victorian homes restored to their original appearance. However, a block down you would see unkept homes with graffiti in the neighborhood. It was also quiet, calm, and most people were friendly. For the most part, the people who lived in the neighborhood and those who only worked there viewed Echo Park the same: it was a good place to live because of the location and pricing, but it can be dangerous at night. Most of the outsiders we spoke with were people who worked at agencies, a pharmacy, the library, and people visiting friends. Although they had positive things to say about Echo Park, when asked if they would consider moving only one said they were already looking for a place while the rest said they liked the community they were a part of much better.

The only place where we felt unwelcomed and no one really wanted to talk to us was at a coffee shop. It was quiet and everyone wanted to keep to themselves. This was a contrast to what we had experienced thus far. It has a different feel and stepping into it was like stepping into a different community. These coffee shops are new to the community and insiders had told us earlier that day that patronizing the coffee shops was like betraying the community. Some people commented on how many artists were moving into the community because of its close proximity and it was a cheaper alternative to Hollywood.

The outsiders we spoke with that were involved in legislation for Echo Park were the agencies serving the community. They write grants to try and get funding to continue serving the residents. The overall impression that was given of Echo Park was that people enjoyed working in this community and people perceive a shift in the vibe of the community to a working ground for artists.

The three of us are outsiders to the community of Echo Park. After experiencing the community for two days, we have come away with a deeper appreciation for the interdependence of community and its residents. Echo Park is growing and transitioning with many resources and encouragement for involvement. It has a rich history and has an extraordinary story to tell. It is our hope that you would be so fortunate to visit the community of Echo Park.

Social Control

By: Carolina Boe and Griselda Marquez

During our exploration of Echo Park, we learned that this community was under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles Police Department, Rampart Division. The Rampart Community Police Stations is responsible for keeping order in Angelino Heights, Echo Park, Historic Filipinotown, Korea Town, Lafayette Park, Macarthur Park, Pico-Union, Temple-Beaudry, Virgil Village, and Westlake. The Rampart Community Police Station was recently moved to 1401 West 6th St., Los Angeles, CA. 90017. The Rampart Division counts with 380 policemen who provide their service to almost 400,000 people, within an eight-square-mile area.

We were informed by Officer Louis Ford from the Rampart Division that he is part of the 9 service leaders, who actually function as listeners and explanation providers for public concerns. These leaders keep the community continuously informed of what is happening within the neighborhoods and wear many different hats. They have accomplished significant improvements in the community attitude toward police.

Regarding crime trends Officer Ford mentioned that at the beginning of his career 19 years ago, the homicide rate within Rampart Division was about 148 cases per year for 6.2 square mile area. However, today it has decreased to 25 homicides a year for 6.2 square mile area. Officer Ford stated that the Rampart community is much safer than in the past. Currently, robbery is the most prevalent crime in the Rampart community. The decline of crime within this area could be attributed to many changes that have happened within this area. Officer Ford explained that immigration has played an integral part in the crime decline. Ninety nine percent of the population within this area was Hispanic, and sixty five percent were illegal. The involvement of immigration and the FBI significantly contributed to this community’s safety. Another contributing factor to the crime decline in this area was the better use of resources, such as the use of computers. With the help of computers, crime patterns could be analyzed and used to help prevent crime. Lastly, Officer Ford proudly added that Rampart has always been known for hard working police officers and with their intense police work crime decrease.

An important element used for social control, is the gang injunction or court issued restraining order, which allows the application of hard penalties to certain individuals, usually gang members, who participate in activities, such as gathering together in public places, wearing gang attire, possessing alcohol or spray- paint cans, intimidating people, and so on. About more than 11,000 individuals and 66 gangs shape the list of injunctions in Los Angeles (Echo Park participates in this list with 5 gangs). To learn more about gang injunctions go to The Los Angeles Police Department website: http://www.lapdonline.org/gang_injunctions

Police force is responsible for maintaining social control within the neighborhoods; however, regarding crime reduction, much credit has to be given to the many community members (residents, businesses and organizations) who have been deeply involved in the processes of crime monitoring and crime prevention. Throughout our exploration of Echo Park, there was a noticeable presences of signs warning against crime.

General Demographics and Community Overview

By: Aiarpi Azatyan and Sonia Gligan

Demographics

Hispanic/Latino; Caucasian; Asian

Neighborhood: Echo Park

The Lotus Festival was held every year in the midst of Echo Park. It was a celebration for Asian-Pacific Islanders; however, now due to pollution no Lotuses have grown and is now called the Community festival.

In the same park/lake that the Community Festival is held at, there is a monument honoring Cuban Poet Jose Marti which was first erected in 1976. Born in 1853, Marti died in Military action in 1895. He was not only a writer but also a political activist who fought for liberty and brotherhood, fought for Cuban independence and was a national hero.

St.Paul’s Cathedral located in the center of Echo Park facing the lake was formerly known as St. Athansius’ Episcopal Church. It is the first non-catholic church in the city to be built. The church offers food banks and adoption services.

Facing the opposite direction of Echo Park Lake is Angelus Temple. It was constructed by Amy McPherson as a house of worship.

Adjacent from the Angelus Temple is what is known as L.I.F.E. Bible College which is the current core operations for the Dream Center. Dream center offers services and programs to the community by outreaches such as Adopt-a-Block, Mobile Food Truck, City help mobile medical clinic, Project prevention, etc.

Streets

Lemoyne St.

Named after William Le Moyne Wills, an LA surgeon and school board member

El Centro Del Pueblo-located on Lemoyne St.

-Founded in 1974; the building use to be a warehouse.

-Won many awards for design/architecture of building. Designed to use less energy
It is used to focus on gang prevention and intervention

-Mission: “to provide social services including counseling, drug prevention, social rehabilitation, employment, outreach, education, health services, and youth services in an effort to improve the quality of life of the diverse communities of LA county.”

-El Centro Del Pueblo is trying to reconnect gang members back into society.

826 LA

-http://www.826la.org

-“826LA is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write."

-Founded in San Francisco 8 years ago.

-Offers after school and in-school tutoring.

-Kids in the program go home with a published book.

-The program is run by volunteers and it was first started in SF eight years ago.

Alvarado St.

-Carey McWilliams lived here during the 1940s; he was a well known writer and inspired the screen play for Chinatown

-Located on Alvarado St. is the Echo Park Film Center: It is “a non-profit media arts organization committed to providing equal and affordable community access to film/video resources via five channels: a neighborhood micro cinema space, free and nominal cost education programs, a comprehensive film equipment and service retail department, a green-energy mobile cinema & film school, and a touring film festival showcasing local established and emerging filmmakers.”

-Gateway Hospital & Community Mental Health Center:
-Non profit organization
-Providing services to those with few resources
-Adult and Adolescent (up to 12yrs, fluctuates to 16yrs)
-Usually come in on hold, very few are voluntary
-Short term acute care, stay for about 2 weeks
-Multidisciplinary team: 3 Social Workers for adults, 1 ½ Social worker for kids
-Kids are usually from residential care or juvi
-Used to be very much involved with research (esp. ADHD)
-Kids: school, recreational therapy, group therapy, meet with psychologist
-Adults: substance abuse therapy, relaxation methods
-Forensic section
-Step down from Institute of mental disorder
-A re-entry program


Sunset Dr.

Jensen’s Recreational Center:

-Henry Jensen was a German immigrant who made bricks. He constructed several buildings in LA in the early 20th century.

-A three story building, it used to be filled with activity. There were apartments on top, a drug store, a row of shops, a bowling alley and pool hall.

-Mostly men

-Used to host celebrity athletic activities

-Closed in the 1970’s

-Considered a historical landmark in 1998; they wanted to restore it but there was opposition because they felt it would bring many gangs to congregate in one area.

Angelino Heights

-Houses on Carroll Ave and Kellam Ave. consist of Victorian era homes. Owners of these homes must follow city codes for preserving the area.

-Many of the homes on these streets were used to film movies and T.V shows.

As we walked through the streets of Echo Park we couldn't help but to notice the littering on the streets, from cigarette buds to broken glass all around. There were many businesses and houses with bars on the windows and all around their homes. However, as we moved from one street to another there were drastic changes in the amount of littering we observed and the cleanliness of people’s homes. Throughout the streets of Alvarado and Logan St. we saw a lot of tagging and graffiti on the floors and walls, old mattresses and trash thrown in the front yard, and a very repulsive odor coming from the streets. As we walked by Lakeshore Ave and Effie St. we noticed the streets were cleaner and the homes were better taken care of and the trash cans were perfectly lined up outside of their homes. Whereas on sunset we saw numbers of trash bags just thrown outside on the sidewalks.

We also saw a lot of murals and paintings on bus benches and local facilities. We soon learned that was part of a beautification grant to beautify and improve public places. Drawings that children have done them selves was used to place by bus stops and trash bins. Many murals were also painted on the walls of public facilities which was also part of the beautification grant in Echo Park. We also learned of two artists that are important in the community. Ernesto De La Loza was an activist and a public servant. He was “an active part of the Chicano mural movement that hoped to inspire unity, consciousness and hope” (video). Peter Shire is a local artist that works with the city youth. He hires locals and has a car wash fundraiser for every person that is shot or killed.

Neighborhood Boundaries

By: Cindy Tanglimsamarnsuk and Lipkia Choudhury

Echo Park has noticeable geographic boundaries that define the neighborhood. The 2 Freeway to Glendale is a clear boundary because it’s very difficult to traverse, for those coming in to the neighborhood as well as those who are leaving. Silver Lake borders the western section of Echo Park. Filipinotown also shares a border. The Northern boundary is Riverside Drive. The Eastern Boundary is Elysian Park and the Harbor Freeway. The Southern boundary is West Second Street.

The people who live in Echo Park are not the only people who work there. While there are lots of family-operated businesses that are doing well, there are businesses and organizations that find their employees from outside the community, from different cities. For example, a librarian at Edendale library commutes from Pasadena to work in Echo Park. However, there are also many people who live and work in the community. Artist Peter Shire’s studio is based out of Echo Park, not far from where he grew up and where he currently lives. Many who have grown up in Echo Park find themselves still living in the neighborhood and serving people in their community.

In addition to the geographical boundaries that define Echo Park, there are also boundaries that people who live in the neighborhood have set for themselves. For example, some who have grown up in Echo Park and have experienced and witnessed the gentrification process firsthand often do not frequent hair salons and coffee shops that have opened in the area. Some people view these types of places as an issue of social class and perhaps feel that they do not belong. These shops have cultivated a name for themselves and are able to attract customers and clients from other parts of Los Angeles.

There are also many major freeways that pass through Echo Park. The 101 freeway overpass located on Temple Street is viewed as a boundary. Some who live east of the 101 freeway overpass on Echo Park Avenue will not go west of it to use the Echo Park pool. The 2 freeway also exits onto a major street in Echo Park and can be very dangerous for those crossing the street, which can be considered a boundary. Some who live in the neighborhood also view Sunset Blvd as a boundary, dividing it into north and south sides. The park in Echo Park itself may be considered a boundary.

Gang activity is present in Echo Park and can be found in certain areas throughout the community. Some people may consider gang territories as a boundary and will avoid those areas. The police department also divides Echo Park into two areas: the Rampart and Northeast division.

Echo Park’s night life can be found on Sunset Blvd. where many people travel to go to bars, clubs and art venues. Some neighborhoods in the community also have names that distinguish them from surrounding areas such as Elysian Heights and Angelino Heights.

Mutual Aid

By: Yutunde Akinmurele

Walking down the various streets of echo park, I found It increasingly difficult to ignore the lack of community resources available to ordinary people who called echo park “home”.

Walking through the neighborhood, I saw several restaurants, clothing stores, family owned businesses, car repair shops. I observed how difficult transportation was for many people evidenced by a middle aged man whom I saw running for the metro bus. A bus stop with no benches and hardly readable bus signs which could easily have been missed by the blink of an eye. As I continued walking, I observed a small shop with no business name and decided to speak with the owner. She was a middle aged woman who informed me she spoke very little English. She had informed me about coming to America five years ago and was currently running this family business which had been in her family for several years. She informed me about living in echo park and stated “I enjoy it because of the people and it reminds me of home”. I couldn’t help but wonder about my family and relatives who had moved to America in hopes of a better future for themselves and their families. The more I walked down echo park, the more I felt a sense of hard work, family importance, and the sacrifices people made to build a better life for themselves.

As I continued walking through echo park, I realized I had passed by one post office and one church. I attempted to enter the church but it was locked. I thought about the role of the church in the lives of individuals and the role God plays in people’s lives. I began to question “how important was spirituality and religious beliefs within the echo park community?” I observed a homeless man sitting on the steps of the church and because of my own fears, I decided not to interview him His presence at the church step allowed me to realize how much the community lacked resources for individuals and families in need of support with basic needs, food, shelter, clothes.

Walking down the neighborhoods, it would be easy for any one to drive past Gateways Mental Health hospital . Gateways hospital was located in a quiet residential home tucked in the back surrounded by trees. The group received a tour of the facility and interviewed with the director of the program. I thought about how efficient and meaningful having a program such as Gateways assisting children and adults integrate back into the community despite their history with mental health. I inquired with the director how much the budget cut had impacted some of the programs offered at Gateways Mental Health and like most of the other agencies in the community, they had suffered some of the cuts by having to decrease services to families. Yet, the director let it be known, the staff and herself were here to service the community and not allow the impact of the economy deter services offered to families. The tour of the facility made me realize there are still individuals and social workers who continue striving hard for the community and who still believe in servicing the people.

A tour of the 826LA had just as much impact on my thoughts about echo park. 826LA was a facility which provided children the opportunity to “imagine” and at the same time a place of learning with the assistance of volunteers. The program inspired me because of the inspiration it provided to children allowing them to think about importance of living as children but not forgetting to give back to the community. The program had a library which published books written by the children creating a sense of importance and individuality with those children. Just like the children of 826LA, I was impacted meeting the children whose mission was to clean graffiti and assist their neighborhoods with maintaining a clean community for themselves and others. These were children who described their moods as “happy”, “not been bored at home”, “hanging with friends” and “working hard”. These were children who looked forward to coming out into the facility because it began teaching them responsibilities they would face as adults. It allowed me to feel a sense of bringing children together, building healthy relationships, and strengthening those relationships through interests and goals.

Ending my walk through echo park, I walked down residential neighborhoods. I thought about how different each street was from the first day I began my walk to now. At the beginning of the walk, I observed gated houses, old buildings, dogs sitting outside each house as if guarding the homes, fairly neat streets, and homes located next to Gateways Mental Health hospital. The end of the walk brought me to a community whose homes were much bigger, cleaner, quiet. The similarities with both neighborhoods was the lack of people outside their homes. There were little interactions with neighbors. It allowed me to think about the relationships within that community and how neighbors imagined each other. It allowed me to realize the importance of building facilities and institutions which would increase the interactions of people who lived in echo park. I thought about creating family based programs, recreational facilities, communities resources for the needy. I thought about the children and their families and how much voice each had in the community. I thought about how much a community impacted children and adults.

By: Sonia Gliqan

The walk down echo park prepared me for the challenges. Challenges as a social worker but most importantly challenged my thought as an individual. The role community plays in our lives would impact the decisions and choices we would make as social workers and as individuals.

I enjoyed the walk around Echo Park city. I thought it was a great experience. It made me realize how important it is to know one’s city and community. The people who were born and raised in Echo Park had a completely different experience than I did. At Central City Action Committee Youth Program I spoke to two little girls around the age of 12. These girls told me that they took the bus or walked to all their destinations. To these girls this is normal; many people in the city transport themselves in those two ways. When I was young I was fortunate to have parents who had a car and time to transport me everywhere, so I never walked or took the bus. I observed many people waiting at the bus stops. I actually even saw a man running to catch the bus, and luckily the man driving the bus opened the doors in the middle of the street. I spoke to a woman sitting at the bus stop. She said that she lived in Echo Park and worked in Century City. She said she took the bus because it was too expensive to pay for parking if she drove her car. This was actually the case for many people, either they lived in Echo Park and worked outside the city, or they lived outside the city and worked in Echo Park.

The outsiders’ perceptions were very interesting. I spoke to an Asian man who worked at the Department of Mental Health. He lives in Orange County and takes the Metro to work at Echo Park. He made the comment that the people who worked there were completely different than the people who lived in the area. At first hearing this comment shocked me, but unfortunately it was expected from a person who comes from Orange County. Orange County is different than Los Angeles. I also spoke to a girl and asked if she was from Echo Park and she said no. I asked her where she lived and she said across the freeway on Temple. I believed this demonstrated the sense of boundaries in the city. Even though she lived so close she did not want to associate herself with Echo Park. I asked her if she knew any resources or places she could go for help and the only place she said was El Centro del Pueblo. She said that she goes there just to hang out. I asked her if she thought many people in the community knew about these types of resources and she said no.

I could not believe all the resources this city offered and it pleased me to see this. I enjoyed going into all of them and hearing what each one had to offer. I did notice that many of them were hidden and I think people would probably have to hear about them in order to know about them. I spoke to a resident and she believes that the long-term residents know about these services through the church or talk around the community. Some places are El Center Del Pueblo, Gateway Hospital, Dream Center, Echo Park Time Bank, Clinica Santa Maria Women’s Center, 826LA, Central City Action Committee Youth Program, and many more. There is also Echo Park Family Medical Clinic, which according to a resident, most of the community go here for medical reasons. Women in financial need can apply for WIC which is located on Glendale Blvd. I also noticed a thrift store, Out of the Closet, had signs for free HIV testing. When I went in the store they had pamphlets about safe sex. To learn more about these programs go to the websites listed below.

Along with these programs, a lot of people turn to the church for help. Most of the residents turn to the church because of their culture they are to prideful to admit they have problems and ask for help. Also in some cases it is not accepted to go outside of the family to ask for help. In other cultures, especially Hispanic, “the problems in the house stay in the house”. Churches are a great resource for these families because they provide different types of services, as well as, offering them information that refers them to different services. St. Paul’s Cathedral is one church of many that have food banks for the homeless or people in need. They provide people with a bag full of food about once a week. Another church I walked by was the Echo Park United Methodist Church. This church had posters for a foundation of early childhood education and for the community beautification grant awardee.

The community also has each other for help. However, on the walk I noticed that almost all the houses had fences. I spoke to a resident and she said that her neighbors have fences so they can have more privacy. Personally, I see fences as unwelcoming or are there for safety concerns. I also did not notice people outside their homes conversing with anyone. This could have been because of the time of day. People were probably at work or at school.

The community has what is called the Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council. This council is the planning, land use and housing committee. These meetings take place in different locations. Some locations are: the Cathedral Center of St. Paul, Williams Hall, Barlow Hospital, Echo Park Branch Library, Recreational Center, and Elysian Park.

http://www.elcentrodelpueblo.org/
http://www.dreamcenter.org/
http://www.gatewayshospital.org/
http://www.echoparktimebank.com/
http://www.826la.org/
http://www.centralcityaction.com/
http://www.wicworks.ca.gov/