Listen Listening The City of Visalia is known to many as the small town with the good restaurants on the way to the giant sequoias. Its bustling downtown district is home to a thriving music scene and dozens of shops and entertainment venues. This century old public space has dealt with issues of alcohol, drugs and homelessness since its inception, according to Ryan Stillwater.
He was hired by the Visalia Rescue Mission two months ago to reinvent the park. His initiative will launch in the coming months as ovalpark. And that is why the city and organizations like the Visalia Rescue Mission have banded together to curb the issue. A shopping cart ordinance went into effect on October 7. The ordinance forces anyone with a cart outside of the bounds of a shopping center to turn it over to authorities.
Under the new law, any homeless person found with a cart will be given a bag for their belongings. Since the ordinance went into effect, 30 carts have been confiscated from homeless people and over carts have been corralled city-wide. Jessica Cavale is the director of development with the mission.
She says the condition of Lincoln Oval Park helped spur the community to take action. Visalia Mayor Amy Shuklian says that working with non-profit organizations will be key to revitalizing the area. She estimates there about 1, homeless people in Visalia.
Oval Park supporters hope that the park will see better days and an improved look including a new playground and more. A five tier plan to revitalize the park was submitted to the Visalia City Council earlier this month.
