Community Corner
Where To House Sick Homeless: Laguna Woods Ayres Hotel A No-Go
The Ayres Hotel doesn't want to house coronavirus positive & at-risk transients, even as the council seeks to block the county's plan.
LAGUNA WOODS, CA — The Laguna Woods city council is considering a lawsuit to block a homeless hotel plan within its city limits.
The Ayres Hotel, a 138-bed hotel in the senior community of Laguna Woods, has backed out of its contract with the county to house transients, some of whom would have been sick with the new coronavirus.
The Laguna Woods City Council had strongly objected to the contract and threatened legal action. There are approximately 18,000 residents in Laguna Woods at age 65 and older, making them the highest risk group for contracting coronavirus, according to a press release from Mayor Noel Hatch.
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The city is "deeply concerned" with a decision to place transients who tested positive with coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, right in the middle of "the most concentrated community of older adults in Orange County," according to Hatch.
Other spaces are being looked at to ensure hospitals are not overrun with homeless people who have contracted coronavirus, the OC Register reported, for the most part, Saddleback Medical Center.
Find out what's happening in Laguna Niguel-Dana Pointfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"From a public health point of view, it could be bad to have a homeless population mix in with a senior population in an emergency room setting," Paul Leon, CEO of the nonprofit Illumination Foundation, which manages the property told the Register.
Residents protested Friday, standing in front of the hotel with signs, imploring drivers to honk and show their support.
Pam Murray told reporters that "we've tried so hard to keep the virus away, and now they're handing it to us on a silver platter."
Meanwhile, some transients have been placed in an unidentified hotel in Orange since Friday.
Residents may express their concerns to Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett at (714) 834‐
3550 or Lisa.Bartlett@ocgov.com.
Supervisor Bartlett represents Laguna Woods and the balance of South Orange County's 5th District on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
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