Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/david-o-carter/)
Fullerton Councilmembers authorized a 150-bed, year-round homeless shelter, and is joining a growing list of North County cities who are building homeless shelters for people in the region — mostly driven by a 2018 federal lawsuit.
Santa Ana, Laguna Beach, and Bellflower agreed to provide specific amounts of shelter for homeless people and to not enforce anti-camping laws against them unless they’re refusing available beds that are appropriate for their disabilities.
“This is a game-changer,” Judge David O. Carter told the courtroom Tuesday before signing off on the settlement, which the court can enforce for the next three years.
South county cities are entitled to litigate before a judge “whose impartiality neither the parties nor the public have a reasonable basis to question,” the ruling states.
Some officials praised the proposal, while others first want a “comprehensive plan” for the full property that could include a university extension site, student housing, a mental health campus, and market-rate housing.
Last year, as county officials were hauled into federal court over a shortage of homeless shelters, Voice of OC reported the stockpiled mental health funds had reached $186 million beyond the reserves.
Cities across OC continue to struggle with cleaning up railroad homeless camps as they pressure railroad companies for more help.
Medical field teams will treat homeless people living on the streets after a federal judge pressured CalOptima — the county insurance plan for the poor and elderly — which also last week earmarked $100 million to homeless services.
One of OC’s next homeless shelters could be headed for the affluent south county suburbs, the judge warns after citing a lack of progress by elected officials to create a mental health shelter.
County Supervisor and CalOptima Director Andrew Do is criticizing the county health insurance agency for the poor and elderly for being too slow in implementing medical teams that will treat homeless people on the streets, just as CalOptima is being asked to appear in a federal court hearing over homeless policies next month.