Another 31 people without fixed abode died in OC in June, 2024. Their names are:
Ruby COLLINS who died on June 2nd in Huntington Beach
Michelle MARSTON KELLY who died on June 3rd in Fullerton
Vinny TRAN who died on June 5th in Fountain Valley
Antonio CASTRO SEGOVIA who died on June 8th in Newport Beach
Cris TAFOLLA, SR. who died on June 10th in Anaheim
Kenneth TAYLOR who died on June 10th in Santa Ana
Edilberto GONZALEZ CANAS who died on June 11th in Brea
Charles CONDULLE who died on June 13th in Laguna Beach
Daisy CRUZ who died on June 13th in Anaheim
Bobby GRIFFITH who died on June 14th in Orange
Juan LOPEZ who died on June 15th in Garden Grove
Steven BECKMAN who died on June 16th in Huntington Beach
Mark SIMEK who died on June 16th in Westminster
Garth EDBORG who died on June 21st in Westminster
Cameron DOUGHERTY who died on June 21st in Laguna Beach
John CERVANTES CASTRO who died on June 21st in Santa Ana
Gustavo De Jesus MARTINEZ RUBI who died on June 23rd in Anaheim
String HAWK who died on June 23rd in Rancho Santa Margarita
Daniel GONZALEZ who died on June 23rd in Orange
Robert SOLT who died on June 23rd in Santa Ana
Erik RODRIGUEZ who died on June 24th in Stanton
Christian PABON who died on June 24th in Anaheim
Todd RISNER who died on June 25th in Orange
Shayna GORDON who died on June 25th in Garden Grove
Eulalio RIVERA who died on June 25th in Orange
Evan COUGHRAN who died on June 26th in Huntington Beach
Jady WHITTLE who died on June 27th in Santa Ana
Lonnie STARNES who died on June 28th in Santa Ana
Jenna MAYER who died on June 29th in Mission Viejo
Abdelmonem HABIBALLA who died on June 29th in Santa Ana
Andrea SOHNS who died on June 30th in Westminster
While the homeless death rate for the first six months of the year has been thankfully down by 24% from last year (204 deaths vs 261 at this point last year), the total for the month of June compares very much to previous years (31 this year compared to 33 in 2023, 31 in 2022, 30 in 2021).
At this point it is unclear both why this year’s death rate has been significantly lower for the first half of the year over the previous year, and then why death rate for this past month returned to where it has been for the past several years.
Yet the most definitive way to reduce the deaths among the people in our county living without fixed abode is to find them fixed abodes, that is, true homes.
What would that look like?
I do believe that there is value to try to figure out what it would take to solve this problem.
I don’t think that 5% solutions or 10% solutions are credible after a while. By definition, they are far closer to no solution at all to an actual solution.
Further, I do think that there is a political cost to failing to dream big and to try to see what it would take to solve this problem.
For instance, if Governor Newsom ever tries to run for President, he will be pummeled for his failure to credibly tackle this problem … until he tries. It would be worth it to him and to any other state politician interested in higher office to try to figure this out.
As a first step, I wrote last month that the State should provide every person sleeping without fixed abode a hotel room for however long it would take to find that person permanent housing. At $100/night per hotel room, the cost of providing hotel rooms for the estimated 80K people in the State sleeping nightly on our streets would be $2.9 billion annually.
By the experience of Salt Lake City, about 50% of those people who find themselves homeless, providing that hotel room – assuming it’s a true hotel room, that is, with a door that locks (for privacy), a true bed (to sleep on), a shower (to clean oneself), a tv (for something to do), a microwave (to warm food), and internet access (to be able to connect to the world / look for something better) — would be all that they need to get their lives back into order.
What then of that other 50%? Well, fortunately they would largely “self-identify.” That is, they would be the ones who would break things, become disorderly.
This is where, yes, law enforcement, would come in to arrest those who cause trouble, break things for disorderly conduct.
Yes, the arrestees would certainly have to be released. But the experience of having to go to the station would have some deterrent effect – especially if it was done consistently: “You break something, you get arrested, you don’t break anything, you get left alone.”
Further, the experience could become even more useful if one were not released until one talked to a social worker: “Ed (or Molly), what’s going on?” “Nothing.” “Well you’re accused of breaking something. Why would you break it? Is there someway we can help you?”
And the more disorderly or the more repetitive the problem would be, the more direct the talk would become. But a clear (and yet humane) link between the disorderly behavior and consequence would made.
The question I would have is how many social workers would this require? I do believe that there are people on the county, state and federal levels who are experts in the fields of logistics and/or situation management who could figure out the numbers and put price tag on this.
Even if the price tag proved initially enormous, at least it would be a number. And then we could all make a societal value judgement – this would be the cost of clearing our streets in a dignified way of the people who are currently sleeping there, and yes, we all see the cost of doing nothing.
Further, once we arrived at a number, both in terms of cost and personnel, we allow our entire society to dream and figure out ways to reduce those costs in imaginative / effective ways.
But right now, we remain walking blindly. Let us please turn on the light.
Fr. Dennis Kriz, OSM, Pastor St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church, Fullerton.
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