Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/mohammed-aly/)
Mohammed Aly, a local attorney and founder of Orange County Poverty Alleviation Coalition, offers support for Assembly Bill 448, which would help finance construction of 2,700 permanent supportive housing units in Orange County.
Mohammed Aly, a local attorney and founder of Orange County Poverty Alleviation Coalition, challenges Orange County Supervisors on their rhetoric toward the homeless, questioning whether recent statements by Supervisors Chairman Andrew Do and Supervisors Todd Spitzer have actually fueled violence against homeless individuals.
Voice of OC is launching a new podcast, On OC, that connects newsmakers, elected officials, activists and residents around the latest civic issues in Orange County.
Orange County supervisors are facing criticism over their plan to require hundreds of homeless people to leave an encampment along the Santa Ana River by Jan. 22 without a place for most of them to go – a move one county supervisor said would push a large number of homeless people into cities like Anaheim.
Homelessness is growing to record levels in Orange County and elsewhere in the country, with more and more county residents struggling to afford rising housing costs and ending up on the streets.
The new law bans any enclosed spaces, along with food and medical services without prior city permission. City officials say it’s needed to protect public health and safety, while homeless advocates say it’s unconstitutional and cruel.
The top county officials are moving in a new direction to address the county’s growing homelessness, authorizing new housing and support services in a unanimous decision this week.
“There is not a board majority at this time” to support a permit for the restrooms, Spitzer told Voice of OC. He said he hopes to introduce an alternative idea Wednesday.
County officials say homeless people should use restrooms at the Courtyard shelter, more than three miles from the Santa Ana river bank encampment. But the shelter closes its doors at 8:30 p.m.
The policy resulted in a Voice of OC reporter being threatened with arrest for trying to report on officers removing a homeless activist from the Board of Supervisors meeting room.