Commissioners at the West Covina Community and Senior Services Commission meeting discussed homelessness in the city and whether to revive an ad hoc committee to coordinate outreach, facility use and support for individuals identified by police and outreach teams.

A resident identified as Charlie told the commission, "I said, we have 175 homeless," and described clinical and employment barriers he said some people face. Community Services staff explained the city's recurring practices: the West Covina Police Department and a HOPE team conduct outreach with a contracted provider the transcript names as "Lakata," and those teams can offer resources and referrals to treatment, housing and other services. Staff said the outreach teams provide information and services, but individuals sometimes decline assistance.

Staff framed an ad hoc committee as a vehicle the commission could use to define how Community Services might support outreach efforts, for example by offering facility space for resource days, coordinating with the HOPE team and the contracted provider, and exploring community engagement strategies. "If that's an ad hoc committee that you would like to see back on, for this commission, then that's a conversation that you can bring forward and you can discuss and vote on," Community Services staff said.

Commissioners asked operational questions about timing and past practice. Staff noted that the annual unsheltered homeless count typically takes place in January. A speaker who described services at a medical center said of roughly 40 people who are checked by psychiatry, a smaller number ("5 or 10") may require referral to more intensive care; the speaker did not provide formal source documentation for those figures.

The commission did not take a formal vote to create an ad hoc homelessness committee during the meeting. Several commissioners and staff expressed interest in returning the topic to a future agenda so the commission could define committee scope and membership and, if approved, set meeting frequency and goals.

The discussion highlighted that outreach teams can offer assistance but that uptake depends on each individual's choice; staff emphasized the ad hoc committee would be advisory and that any implementation requiring city resources or facility use would come back to the commission for approval.