Until they all come home....To a home.

Operation Homeward Bound- Mission to end homelessness in LA

I. Intro- Some of you have probably seen some version of this plan over the last month, but I’m hoping this mission will have networked to enough people that I and my goal will be new to you. For those who have read some of this in some version, I appreciate you spreading the word, your patience (for reading through this again), and your enthusiasm. You have only fueled my passion for this project. Those who are new to this mission, I welcome you and any help, feedback, suggestions you may have. Even if your comments are “go to hell buddy, it will never work”, I still welcome that. It’s only going to make we work harder, as it has throughout my life.
So who am I? My name is Pete Cruz, a native Los Angelino who (as a result of the high cost of college and healthcare) was amongst LA’s homeless in the late 90s. While I was able to finish school and turn my life around, I know that others, for whatever reason, are not so lucky. I vowed never to go back to that situation, but more importantly, I decided to repay the help I received by helping others to get off the streets. I had heard that LA Mayor Villaraigosa was embarking on a series of plans towards helping the homeless. I was thrilled at this motion and began to think of ways to help, to raise money or to otherwise volunteer my time and services. I had gotten my motorcycle license a year earlier, and bought my first bike in 2005. While many people see motorcycles and riders as a hazard, to me, it was a great symbol. I had turned my financial life around to the point where I could buy the bike I always wanted. Nothing fancy or expensive, but mine nonetheless. I became part of a community that, contrary to popular belief, is filled with many good people. As with any group, there are good and bad apples, but the more people I met and the more I learned about bikes and their riders, from all walks of life, the more I realized what I could do to help. I began to set my plan in motion….

II. Mission Statement- My plan is to create a motorcycle ride through the streets of Los Angeles, a fundraiser that could start, go through and end in some of the more famous locations throughout LA. The route isn’t so important, but hopefully it could be something central to Los Angeles and its more famous symbols.

III. Goals- My goal is to raise money for homeless shelters and or housing for the homeless here in Los Angeles, with an emphasis on homeless veterans. In general, I’ve been trying to steer clear of many of the established shelters, such as the Midnight Mission. This might sound counterproductive, but it’s my goal not to make this a religious or political situation, so I’ve tried to keep it as secular and bipartisan as possible. Eventually I would like this event to be as big as the Love Ride, an annual event hosted every year by Jay Leno. As with the Love Ride, it’s my hope that the event could be much more than a ride. Something with auctions, celebrities, food and live music to begin and or end the event. Eventually I would like this ride to spread into every major city throughout the country, in an attempt to end homelessness nationwide.

IV. Current and past action- I began this mission in mid 2006, after becoming a bit more versed in the motorcycle riding community and studying up on motorcycle charity events. I was even more motivated when I read that LA Mayor Villaraigosa was passionate about putting an end to the homeless problem. Intrigued, I read up more on his plans and what steps he was trying to take. I felt compelled to e-mail him about the plans that I already had. I had envisioned a city sponsored event, possibly with thousands of riders being escorted through LA by police motorcycle escort. I know, probably just a dream, but if you’re going to dream, dream big, right? After many attempts to contact the mayor, I finally received this e-mail response, dated December 2006:
Thank you for taking the time to e-mail my office to express your views and concerns. As Mayor, I am pleased to hear from you so that I may better serve the needs of Los Angeles. Your comments will be forwarded to the appropriate staff member or city department. A swift way to resolve service problems and needs is to dial 311, the City's direct phone line to customer service information. If you are outside the City of Los Angeles, you may also reach a 311 Ambassador by calling 213-473-3231. Very truly yours,
Antonio R. Villaraigosa
Mayor

I thought that maybe he was just busy with the holidays, but I tried the phone numbers many times, to no avail. I then concentrated my efforts on people who I thought to be “LA Royalty”, that is to say, celebrities and or their companies\charities who are a staple of Los Angeles. These include the following:
1. The Magic Johnson Foundation
2. The Serenity for Shelter Foundation
3. The Anschutz Entertainment Group
4. The LA Kings Care Foundation
5. The Loose Cannons radio program on XTRA Sports 570 radio
I know I’m leaving many off, but it might get redundant to list them all, and to be honest, I kind of lost track after a while. I began just trying to contact individuals and seeking their advice. I got a lot of good feedback on whom to contact about charity rides, and ideas from people within the riding community. I am thinking about getting in touch with USC football coach Pete Carroll, who has a foundation in LA called A Better LA, geared at getting young men out of gangs and into better situations. If anyone knows of any other projects like this, or how to contact any of the people I’ve already mentioned, it would be a great help.

V. Moving forward- In all my research, I’ve found two entities which could most benefit from this and fit my overall mission statement. The first is a local organization called The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. It’s a city based agency that is actively reaching out to homeless people in the community. The second is a national based project called the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. They operate in a similar capacity, but are non profit and not government based.
What I would like to see happen is an outpouring of ideas on how to get this thing going. It would be ideal to see it happening during Memorial Day, Veterans Day or Independence Day, but really, any day would be fine. Maybe we would end up creating our own annual day of celebration and remembrance.
I’ve created this blog to keep track of progress and will make an official website once we get the thing in motion. Anybody who can volunteer in any capacity or has thoughts, feedback, etc, please e-mail to OperationHB@roninapache.com
I tried for a few years, but I don’t think I can do this alone. I don’t know the first thing about starting something like this. I know about motorcycles, veterans and the experience of not knowing where I’ll be sleeping at night. I’m hoping we can join our efforts and make this happen in 2009.