Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/karen-roper/)
While there is wide support for a year-round shelter, a close look at county statements raises questions regarding whether the county will no longer fund seasonal shelters once the year-round shelter is up and running.
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.
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.
The county now has all the outside approvals it needs, according to the terminal’s owner. But county officials could not say how quickly the shelter beds would be available.
The increased funding for shelter beds comes amid warnings of intense El Niño rains this winter that could be especially dangerous for homeless people who encamp in the Santa Ana River bed.
That, and a number of other homeless issues, were discussed during a meeting among local officials and advocates.
The county is terminating five employees in response to findings from a personnel investigation into misconduct at the agency, according to sources.
But the approval comes with criticisms from residents who live near the proposed shelter – along with advocates for Civic Center homeless and some supervisors – who say the county did a bad job of outreach.
Local government officials and nonprofit leaders sat down with the Voice of OC Community Editorial Board last week to talk about how the county succeeded and how it failed this year in the fight against homelessness.
There were positive steps in 2013, but the county was still plagued by a lack of cohesiveness among those responsible for getting people off the street.