Northridge, Help Convert A Roller Rink Into Interim Housing

NORTHRIDGE, CA — Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission will be raising funds to convert the Northridge Skateland into a transitional housing facility for individuals experiencing homelessness — and they've gotten quite creative with their methods.

Hope of the Valley founder and CEO Ken Craft and President and CFO Rowan Vansleve will spend just over four days living unhoused in Los Angeles with only a backpack, a hygiene kit and $10, according to a news release from the organization. The two will hit the streets Monday.

“I have spent over 20 years working to eliminate the suffering and despair experienced by the unhoused. I have done my best to empathize with their pain and tell their stories, but each night I still have the privilege to return to my temperature-controlled home with cabinets that contain food. I think it is time that I ‘walk a mile in their shoes,’ so that I can not only feel the pain and tell the story of those who languish on our streets but advocate and work towards a future where nobody must sleep outdoors and go to bed hungry,” Craft said in a news release.

Hope of the Valley will accept sponsor donations that will help fund the creation of the Trebek Center, a 107-bed housing facility replacing the Skateland roller rink, which didn't make it through the pandemic.

The project is part of Mayor Eric Garcetti's "A Bridge Home Initiative," which allows for faster and more supported city construction of transitional housing for individuals experiencing homelessness. Garretti's program provided a significant amount of funding for the Trebek Center.

The Trebek Center is set to open in 2022.