Last year was a particularly deadly one for people living on the streets of Southern California – and especially in Orange County, where homeless deaths went up a staggering 75 percent in 2015 compared to the previous year.
Category: Housing & Homelessness
Orange County housing and homelessness, from what the state told each city to build to what it has actually permitted. Rent increases, evictions, affordable projects, shelters, anti-camping enforcement and the federal court orders shaping all of it.
Posted inCountywide, Housing & Homelessness, Norberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Supervisors Making Progress on Homelessness
Orange County supervisors are making progress like never before on homelessness and Voice of OC Publisher Norberto Santana Jr. argues it’s public feedback and engagement that’s helping keep them focused.
Posted inGovernment, Housing & Homelessness, News Briefs, Top Stories
OC Supervisors OK Housing Project for Homeless Veterans
The development would provide affordable housing for 49 veterans , as well as support services like as job training, job placement, Veterans Affairs benefits assistance, and health and wellness, according to officials.
Posted inGovernment, Housing & Homelessness, Top Stories, Transportation
Amid Drastic Moves Elsewhere, Homeless Advocates See Hope in OC
Officials in San Francisco and San Jose have aggressively cleared out homeless encampments similar to the one in the county’s Civic Center. But successes in other places show there are better solutions.
Posted inCommunity Opinion, Countywide, Housing & Homelessness
Cal Housing Consortium: Affordable Housing is a Matter of Life & Death
California needs to address the dire lack of affordable housing, which doesn’t just kill poor people for lack of shelter but also threatens the state’s economy because workers need a stable place to live — or they move elsewhere.
Posted inCountywide, Housing & Homelessness, Norberto Santana Jr., Santa Ana, Transportation
Santana: Focus for Santa Ana Civic Center Should be People not Buildings
Orange County Supervisors are right to talk openly about the future of the Civic Center. But they should focus on things like transforming the abandoned bus terminal into a homeless service center before embarking on a building spree.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Housing & Homelessness, Top Stories, Transportation
Supervisors Discuss Massive Overhaul of OC Civic Center
The Civic Center Master Plan would reorganize the current amalgamation of government buildings in downtown Santa Ana into four “neighborhoods” and remodel facilities in four phases over the next 20 years.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Housing & Homelessness, Top Stories
OC’s Main Provider of Homeless Services Draws Fire From Advocates
While Mercy House has been the go-to homeless services provider for local governments, the organization and its executive director, Larry Haynes, face harsh criticism at the street level. Haynes says he’s working on strengthening his relationships with people in the trenches.
Posted inGovernment, Housing & Homelessness, Top Stories
Big Spike in OC Homeless Deaths Alarms Advocates
The annual number of homeless deaths in the county, largely driven by overdoses, have skyrocketed since 2005, even as estimates of the overall homeless population have gone down.
Posted inCountywide, Housing & Homelessness, Norberto Santana Jr., Transportation
Santana: County Officials Moving Slowly to Help Civic Center Homeless
Voice of OC Publisher Norberto Santana Jr. urges county officials to move quickly to secure federal approvals to get Santa Ana Civic Center homeless population under a covered roof before the El Niño storms return.
