El Monte : Homeless Program Evicted

The board of trustees of the First United Methodist Church made good Tuesday on a promise to evict a program for the homeless, which had operated for two years out of three church meeting rooms in a residential neighborhood.

Downcast volunteers for Interfaith Community Outreach stacked used clothing and food on the sidewalk Tuesday morning and invited the city’s destitute to carry the stuff away. “We put the bread out there in the shopping carts, and they hit it like piranhas,” said Keith Crosswhite, a homeless volunteer.

“This is downright depressing,” said Mike Ruggles, manager of IFCO, which had provided 6,000 people a month with food, clothing and vouchers for cold-weather shelters. “I truly thought (the trustees) would give us a reprieve. I couldn’t believe the church would follow through with this.”

Church officials, who have cited neighborhood complaints as their reasons for evicting the program, could not be reached for comment. City officials say homeowners in the Tyler Avenue area have complained about the presence of homeless people in their neighborhood. The city blocked the program from relocating to a three-story house on Basye Street.

IFCO, which is supported by six churches from the region, will be housed temporarily in the Village Presbyterian Church in Arcadia, 2 1/2 miles from the El Monte church.