In 2016, the City of Pomona was being sued by law firms and hundreds of homeless people occupied neighborhood parks and city streets. Robert Torres made a promise to work with the community and find a compassionate solution to the homeless issue. 

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As Councilmember, Robert Torres lead the effort to build a city emergency homeless shelter (Hope for Home), which provides temporary housing, job training and rehabilitation opportunities to homeless people. He also worked to establish the Pomona PD Heart Team, which focuses on illegal homeless encampments and connecting city services to the homeless population.

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