With a shift from homelessness in Ocean Beach to local community action, the faith-based community held a third and final community-led forum Nov. 16. About 30 people attended the meeting at Point Loma United Methodist Church, as neighborhood leaders hosted talks on tangible plans to improve the community and its image. “Homelessness is the issue that brought us all together,” said Jack Hamlin, San Diego Restorative Justice Program board chair. “[The homelessness discussion is] now creating a better community and, by doing so, hopefully alleviating some of the aspects of the homelessness issues.” At the forum, members of three of the four task forces that were created at the previous forum presented reports from their respective meetings in recent weeks. The only group that did not make a presentation was the government group, which did not have a representative at the meeting. Here is an overview of the presentations: • The community task force held a recent cleanup on Newport Avenue in which about 30 people participated. Group members also met about a month ago. Looking at ways to impact the community in a positive way, a representative from this group shared ideas that included future cleanups, using unused buildings in the area to shelter the homeless and planting small gardens around Ocean Beach. • The charge of the activities task force is to coordinate all of the different events, feedings and social outreach for the homeless that is taking place within the community. A representative from that group also presented the idea of a pamphlet outlining services that the homeless could use and reference. • The facilities task force focused on the lack of public restrooms in Ocean Beach. Group members presented the plans for the bathroom slated to be built on Brighton Avenue and recommended that additional bathrooms be installed near Tower 2 and along Newport Avenue, in addition to placing lockers near the beach. Hamlin said the interfaith group will try to expand its presence in the community in the coming months. “What has come out of this is the interfaith community has decided to become a permanent coalition, and we’re going to be approaching the [Ocean Beach] Town Council for a permanent seat to represent the faith community,” Hamlin said. “The people are looking to the faith community for leadership.” Looking ahead, Hamlin said he expects more work from each of the four committees and the establishment of a website for the group. For information or to get involved, e-mail Hamlin at [email protected], or Tom Ziegert, pastor of Point Loma United Methodist Church, at [email protected]. “We’ve got enough patches to make a huge quilt,” Hamlin said. “But they’re just fluttering in the wind right now and it’s a matter of trying to bring them together so that we have a good working quilt of a coalition.”