Jackie Krentzman is a Bay Area-based writer and editor.

A dozen years ago, Steve Sieber was diagnosed with a heart condition. Thinking he didn’t have long to live, Seiber ended up using drugs and living on the streets of Glendora.

In March, with help from the city, Sieber moved into city-financed transitional housing. And with the support of city outreach staff and a local nonprofit, he began treatment for drug addiction.

“When you are out on the streets, waking up in the bushes every morning, you want to get out of your head, so the first thing you want to do is take drugs,” he says. “Moving into stable housing has been a blessing on so many levels.”

In 2018, the city’s Point-in-Time Count found 58 people experiencing homelessness in Glendora, a city of 50,000 in the San Gabriel Valley. Last year, that number mushroomed to 147. The city allocated $2 million from its General Fund to help homeless residents, a 25% increase from the prior year. Staff hope to dedicate the same level of funding for the coming year.

The city increased funding after a 2024 citywide quality of life survey. “When we did the survey in 2018, homelessness was not even in the top five concerns,” says City Manager Adam Raymond. “But in 2020, it was cited as the top priority by nearly 30% of the respondents. It remains a top concern today.”

“Not only did our residents identify this as a key issue, but they also indicated that they didn’t want the city to turn a blind eye to it,” says Mayor David Fredendall. “Overall, they are very supportive of the programs we have initiated and our desire in particular to serve homeless clients who have ties to Glendora instead of pushing them to another jurisdiction.”

The city used this infusion of resources to hire three full-time staff members and two more police officers to help coordinate activities. Police officers conduct outreach and participate in case conferencing. Glendora outreach transports people to appointments and helps them move into transitional and permanent housing, among other roles.

Glendora also launched an assistance program that provides motel vouchers, financial assistance, transportation, family reunification, and other services. The city contracts with outside agencies, including one focusing on encampment resolutions. Another, the nonprofit Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol & Drug Abuse, provides case management and a host of support services.

Aaron Sambrone, the centers’ program coordinator for Glendora, says the work is more than a job.

“Everyone who works closely with these folks has a real passion for helping unhoused individuals and has shown a lot of compassion, from the police officers and outreach team who are in direct contact, to the city staff and city council that funds and administers the programs,” Sambrone says.

The goal, says Raymond, is to find permanent supportive housing for as many people as possible. To that end, the city purchased a hunting lodge turned assisted living facility that it plans to convert into either permanent low-income housing or a mix of transitional and permanent housing. Glendora, which has spent $5 million thus far, needs to raise another $40-$50 million to make this a reality.

In general, the city needs more funding for housing and services for homeless residents. While the residents are generally supportive of the city’s efforts, says Raymond, they also don’t want other services taken away to fund homeless services.

The $2 million allocated for homelessness services in 2023-24 and again this fiscal year has come in part from county sales tax measures earmarked for homelessness. Glendora’s mayor says the city’s cut of the pie is not nearly enough to address the growing challenge, as less than 4% of the $6 million contributed by Glendora comes back to the city as direct funding.

“The sad thing is that Measure A was brought forward to the voters as ‘Hey, voters, if you’ll give us a half a cent, we can do more and it’ll solve the homelessness issue,’” Fredendall says. “However, we are a relatively affluent community, and our need was perceived as less than others.”

Fredendall and the city are imploring the state and county to contribute more funds to Glendora. In the meantime, Glendora is committed to doing as much as it can with its current resource levels to serve its homeless population. Sieber, for one, is grateful.

“With the help of L.A. CADA and the supportive police officers, I got sobriety again,” he says. “They connected me to the services I need and keep me accountable. When I figure out my next step around permanent housing, I will be a regular, productive human being once again.”