Heyneman Park renovations include ADA upgrades

Jackie Heyneman Park, the half-acre pocket park located at Beech Street and South Mission Road, is undergoing a renovation that includes making the park more handicapped-accessible.

"They are creating an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) parking space as well as new park benches that will be ADA compliant and a picnic table that is wheelchair accessible," said Roy Moosa, president of the Fallbrook Village Association.

Other improvements including making sidewalks ADA compliant, installing a new drinking fountain that meets ADA height standards and replacing sidewalks that were buckled by tree roots.

"They eliminated a pepper tree which dropped things and made it hard for somebody in a wheelchair," said Moosa.

New LED lighting will be installed throughout the park and a gazebo is being built to provide shade for visitors. The gazebo can also serve as a bandstand.

"The hope is that somewhere down the road we could have things like concerts and bands playing there and really make the park another center in town for people to come together and enjoy," said Moosa.

The Fallbrook Village Association is using a $240,000 grant it received from the County of San Diego to pay for the improvements.

The park has been closed since the renovation work began in May and Moosa said it will probably be "another month or two" before it is reopened. "We've had some delays," said Moosa.

Heyneman Park has been a favorite gathering spot for Fallbrook's homeless and its closure has resulted in members of that population moving on down the road.

"I noticed they moved over to Fallbrook Street near Fallbrook Fertilzer," said Moosa. "They sit on the benches along the Pico Promenade. That's where you kind of see them every day."

The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency held a homeless outreach event at Heyneman Park in March and provided the small group of homeless that visited the park that day with the opportunity to get a hepatitis A shot. They also offered help with filling out paperwork to apply for Medical, CalFresh and General Relief.

Deanna Zotalis-Ferreira, interim deputy director for North County Regions of the county's Health and Human Services Agency, is scheduling a community convening to be held later this month – June 27 is the tentative date – to discuss Fallbrook's growing homeless problem.

According to an email Zotalis-Ferreira sent to prospective attendees, the purpose of the community convening is "to gather persons from different sectors, including government and community entities, to develop a shared agenda to address the homeless. This 'Collective Impact' approach will allow for information exchange related to: identifying housing and community service resources, discuss solutions, challenges and next steps."

Zotalis-Ferreira's invitation list includes Homeless Outreach Team members, Behavioral Health Services and Housing and Community Development Services personnel, homeless outreach contractors (Interfaith Community Services and McAllister Institute), Seth Patton from Supervisor Bill Horn's office, members of SonRise Christian Fellowship Fallbrook, and Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce officials.