The Shelter of Responsibility

Like rainwater, responsibility can be a tricky thing to track. After months of heavy rain, many San Fernando Valley residents know all too well the difficulty of tracing a leak as it slips between the shingles, runs along a rafter and finally drips through the drywall. Sadly, some residents have a similar kind of experience as they deal with landlords, insurance companies and sometimes even local governments.

For instance, owners of a Van Nuys apartment building have yet to make repairs and allow tenants back into homes saturated by rain late last month. Although they have offered to help residents find new homes and provided a place for them to store belongings, the owners have not been able to start repairs because of delays with their insurance company. According to the owners, their insurance company told them to drape a tarp over a roof damaged last month by a falling tree. It’s hardly the shelter necessary to protect against the kind of heavy storms that buffeted the Valley last week. As adjusters dicker, many residents remain homeless.

Happily, though, homeless residents of the Valley found a small degree of comfort in news that emergency cold-weather shelters will remain open another month. Although the number of available beds will drop more than 20%, the shelters will remain open on cold or rainy nights until the end of April. Los Angeles County officials plan to pay for the extra nights with unspent money from the shelter program. It’s a smart, compassionate expenditure. And as the rain continues and hillsides slip and roofs give way, more like it may be necessary from government and insurers. Let’s hope responsible parties don’t slip away like the rain.