Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/category/topics/housing-homelessness/)
Orange County’s largest homeless camp, home to hundreds of people living along the Santa Ana River near Angel Stadium, has a new set of visitors: twice-a-week patrols by a contingent of two dozen sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officers.
The Anaheim City Council will double down on existing efforts to provide services to homeless people before eventually clearing out large encampments along the Santa Ana River.
The stepped-up patrols by sheriff’s deputies are scheduled to begin Friday, according to a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait disclosed the council received a letter a few hours prior to the Aug. 29 meeting notifying it Anaheim does not have the authority to place restrooms in the proposed area near the Santa Ana riverbed.
Riprap has moved two homeless camps from the Santa Ana riverbank, one by the Honda Center last year and the other this year along the 57 Freeway from roughly the 22 Freeway to Angel Stadium. The Honda Center riprap was requested by Supervisor Shawn Nelson, according to county emails.
The camping ordinance is a revision of the city’s previous camping law, which only addressed sleeping in cars, campers, recreational vehicles and trailers. The new ordinance applies to individuals sleeping anywhere on public property in the city.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of OC Catholic Worker and seven homeless plaintiffs, who allege law enforcement have created additional hardship for homeless people by seizing property and issuing citations while people are away from their belongings, going to the bathroom, attending doctor’s appointments and performing other essential tasks.
The Anaheim City Council last week voted unanimously to approve a $1 a year lease for the Illumination Foundation to use a vacant historic home as a homeless service center.
The removal comes less than two weeks after the county entered a $750,000 contract with the non-profit City Net to provide services to a separate group of homeless people camped on the western bank of the Santa Ana River near Angel Stadium.
Donald Meade was homeless, living at Santa Ana’s Civic Center. Then he stopped using and got off the streets. But there was still unfinished business.