By David Duran Written in memory of the over 237 unhoused people who have died without abode throughout Orange County from January 1, 2022 – June 30, 2022. Housing is a Human Right OC (HHROC) reviewed the Orange County Grand Jury’s recently released report, “How is Orange County Addressing Homelessness?,” with great interest. Unfortunately, we found that the report’s analysis and recommendations are so flawed that we were moved to send a letter of concern to the OC Grand Jury for their serious review and consideration. We note that the Grand Jury correctly identifies the county’s shortage of permanent affordable housing to end houselessness. However, its recommendations focus on additional shelters and forced treatment. These recommendations are foolhardy. Orange County ...

Buena Park Homeless Liaison Officer, Josh Carreto, and Public Safety Task Force Officer Lindsay Cruz, check out a new homeless encampment at an abandoned store on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. No one was there at the time.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) By Alicia Robinson | The Orange County Register It’s easy to spot the tattered tents of an encampment, stray shopping carts full of belongings, or someone shouldering an overloaded backpack topped with a bedroll. But figuring out how to accurately measure homelessness so its root causes can be addressed is a challenge for which no perfect solution has been found. Orange County officials announced last month that the federally required “point in time” count, taken ...

By David Duran While in attendance during the Tuesday, June 14th Board of Supervisor’s meeting and during the agendized public comment period, one of the public was called by name to give public comment and during his public comment, 4 of the 5 Supervisors got up and left the room at the same time because they didn’t want to hear what the person giving public comment was telling them. One of the Supervisors returned to the room a few moments later….maybe Supervisor Bartlett remembered that actually listening to the public was part of her job and listening to the public during public comment was one of the ways a Supervisor could learn more about the community that they were sworn ...

Orange County's Hall of Administration in Santa Ana, where the most consequential decisions effecting the County are made and ... not made.   by Fr. Dennis Kriz, OSM Another 41 people died without fixed abode in Orange County in May 2022.  Their names were: Dwain HIBDON who died on May 1st in Buena Park Javier RIOS who died on May 2nd in Tustin Anthony PIERCE who died on May 2nd in Santa Ana Chris TORRES who died on May 4th in Newport Beach Roger TOPP who died on May 4th in Newport Beach Stephen CHAREST who died on May 4th in Anaheim George MARTINEZ who died on May 4th in Anaheim Marcos SORIANO-ALCANTARA who died on May 5th ...

Homeless encampment in Santa Ana. May 13, 2021. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC by Brandon Pho and Spencer Custodio While many advocates for homeless people have long argued that ‘housing first’ is the real solution to a worsening crisis, state officials are instead looking to mandate mental health treatment on the population, with housing more or less taking a back seat. In early March, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a plan to put homeless people with Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders under state control, through court-ordered “CARE” plans. [Read: A New Approach to the Homeless Crisis Could be Coming to Orange County] Anyone from family members, social workers, and police officers can start the process and petition to ...