City of Santa Ana
Today, the Orange County Health Care Agency, City of Santa Ana, CityNet began a joint, enhanced effort to connect the homeless population within the Orange County Civic Center’s “Plaza of the Flags” to emergency shelters and services. The planned joint effort will enforce a U.S. District Court ordinance to prohibit overnight camping within the Civic Center campus, starting on April 2. Continue reading
City of Santa Ana
Community: Homeless Count Volunteer Opportunity Tomorrow: Are you an early riser?
The City of Santa Ana is executing a Point-in-Time Count of the homeless population across the City of Santa Ana tomorrow morning. As you know, the City it working to address homelessness both here and across the County. A count of the homeless in our community is a part of that effort. Continue reading
City of Santa Ana
Community: Santa Ana to Evaluate Legal Options to Address Countywide Homeless Inaction
City Council Strikes Back for Shared Responsibility
SANTA ANA, CA – The Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously (6-0-1) to seek legal options for the City to motivate the entire Orange County community to take action on homelessness. The City Attorney is to return back to the Council on Tuesday, April 3rd with legal options to sue the County of Orange to force additional action to spread the responsibility of homeless solutions across the county. The action comes in response to the County Board of Supervisors’ March 27 vote to rescind a prior decision to create three temporary homeless shelters throughout Orange County. Continue reading
I wonder how many of those Irvine residents that showed up at the O.C. Board of Supervisors meeting this week to complain about the homeless will be at church this Easter Sunday praising Jesus – who pretty much asked his followers to take care of the poor?
It is one of the dichotomies of conservative Christian Orange County. There are churches all over the place but they minister, for the most part, to the well-off and mostly ignore the downtrodden. Continue reading
The Santa Ana City Council is conducting a special City Council meeting this Friday, March 30, 2018, at 9 a.m., at their Council chambers, located at 22 Civic Center Plaza.
The first half of this meeting is a closed session during which time the City Council will talk about their plans to illegally place a ballot measure on the June Primary ballot so they can extend their term limits.
The second half of the meeting gets more interesting. They are going to allow the public to comment as the City Council considers what they are calling a Short Term Homeless Plan. Continue reading
Urgent Call to Action: Santa Ana we need to stand up and say no more…. Enough is enough!
By: Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez
Santa Ana has provided the largest share of assistance by any city in the county.
The Civic Center is the living room of Orange County but unfortunately, it has become ground zero for the homeless population. This regional crisis is impacting the quality of life for all residents, employees and visitors of Santa Ana.
I want to encourage all Santa Ana residents to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting this coming Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at 9am and ask the board to adopt a comprehensive homeless policy that states, “The County supports the equitable distribution of facilities and services throughout the Region, so that no one jurisdiction or community is impacted by providing more than its fair share of facilities and services”. Continue reading
Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson Joins California State Senator John Moorlach In Call to Open Fairview Developmental Center For Emergency Homeless Shelter
SANTA ANA, CA— In response to Federal Judge David O. Carter’s demand to immediately identify
a plan for emergency homeless shelters in Orange County, Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson is working with California State Senator John Moorlach to request he ask the State of California to take emergency action to open Fairview Developmental Center as an emergency homeless shelter.
The Fairview Developmental Center (FDC) occupies 114 acres of state-owned land and is centrally
located in Costa Mesa. The facility opened in 1959 and was originally designed to serve individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Utilizing infrastructure already in place will help expedite the transition of homeless from area motels to an improved triage center while satisfying the judge’s order to present a swift, realistic plan. Continue reading
By O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do
On Monday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors directed staff to use $70.5 million of Mental Health Services Act funds for supportive housing and shelter for our homeless.
The Board also directed staff to enter into contract with American Family Housing for a 12-unit unrestricted site that can accommodate homeless couples. Continue reading
The City of Santa Ana is proposing to open up the Santa Ana Riverbed to create a new bike trail that will affect residents living near the Casa Bonita Neighborhood from 1st to Willits & Raitt to the OC Flood Channel, according to an anonymous source.
Neighbors are concerned about this proposal as they allege that it will increase the chances of homeless encampments popping up again with so many of them having been recently displaced. They seem to gravitate towards riverbeds and bring with them increased crime including thefts from homes whose backyards will be exposed to the proposed new bike trail. The riverbed in question has been closed for some 30 years. Continue reading
Santa Ana, Calif. (March 15, 2018) – Orange County will audit more than $219 million in mental health spending in an effort to improve programs and better coordinate services with the county’s homeless response.
On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a performance audit to identify and review all county mental health programs funded through the Mental Health Services Act. In approving the audit, the County intends to streamline hundreds of mental health programs that serve residents, including the estimated 52,500 Orange County teenagers living with a mental health condition. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: UPDATE – Victim/Decedent Identified
Victim/Decedent Identified as Jesse Dean Dowell (44) transient Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: UPDATE – Suspect/Decedent Identified
Suspect/Decedent identified as Terrall Magee (53) transient. Continue reading
Santa Ana Police Department
Advisory: Detectives Investigating a Homicide in the Civic Center Area
Victim: Pending Notification of Next of Kin
On Sunday, March 11, 2018, at 11:34 PM, Santa Ana Police officers responded to reports of an assault with a victim down in the Plaza of the Flags within the City of Santa Ana Civic Center. Orange County Fire Authority paramedics treated the victim at scene and declared him deceased at 11:52 PM. Continue reading
Chairman’s Homelessness Update: After Clearing the Riverbed, Orange County Invests in Long-Term Solutions for Homelessness
Santa Ana, Calif. (March 2, 2018) – Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Andrew Do provides the sixth edition of his weekly update on the continuous and consistent progress in addressing homelessness.
SANTA ANA RIVERBED: BEFORE AND AFTER
The County delivered on its promise to motel-shelter all those living on the riverbed. Here is an aerial view of the riverbed before and after sheltering over 700 homeless individuals: Continue reading
Santa Ana, Calif. (March 1, 2018) —Orange County will be extending the availability of 400 emergency shelter beds for the homeless.
On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved funding to keep the Mercy House Living Centers, Inc. Armory Emergency Shelters open through April 15, 2018. Continue reading