Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/mohammed-aly/)
Orange County ignores CDC guidance to leave six feet of space between cots at its emergency homeless shelters. The Courtyard shelter has loaded four times the number of occupants than permitted by the building code. The Board of Supervisors must move immuno-compromised or elderly people from shelters to motels now.
Orange County resident and public interest attorney Mohammed Aly writes about the local campaign to implement best medical practices for treating opioid addiction in the Orange County Jail. Orange County loses hundreds of lives each year to the opioid crisis. Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is the most effective medical response, using a combination and drugs and therapy to treat opioid addiction and deter relapse. By local policy, however, only pregnant inmates can access MAT upon booking in jail. Barring adequate opioid treatment for inmates exacerbates the health crisis and violates federal law. Funding MAT access would save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in hospitalization and law enforcement costs. For these reasons, advocates are calling for the Board of Supervisors to implement MAT access in the Orange County Jail.
Mohammed Aly, a local resident and executive director of the Orange County Poverty Alleviation Coalition, writes that doing nothing about homelessness is no longer an option. Given the progress of a federal lawsuit on homelessness in Orange County, Aly argues that cities like Tustin, which tonight will consider approving for construction 54 affordable rental units and 60 permanent supportive affordable rental units, can no longer refuse to provide housing opportunities for low income people.
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.