OC Supe Calls For More Beds, Shelter for Homeless

ORANGE COUNTY, CA – Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson today directed county staff to work up an "inventory" on available spaces to set up emergency shelters for transients.

As supervisors were winding up their public session Tuesday, Nelson said the county needs to see if it can do more to provide shelter for the region's transient population.

The call for more shelter came after another meeting in which activists beseeched the supervisors to do more on the issue, with more transients flocking to the civic center and essentially setting up a makeshift village in the Plaza of the Flags steps away from the Central Justice Center courthouse and another campgrounds of sorts along the Santa Ana riverbed.

"Until we can answer the question, does every person who wants a cot, meals, a shower and a restroom (have access to those services), I think we're going to continue to lose this argument," Nelson said.

Nelson, who has been hailed as a chief force behind a long-term homeless services center in Anaheim, added that "no matter where we put (a shelter), it will be unpopular and we'll never make progress until we can at least figure out how to answer the question, do we have a bed for everyone who wants it."

At the board's last meeting earlier this month, the supervisors bemoaned how activists continue to direct so much ire at them despite fast-tracking the homeless services facility in Anaheim.

Nelson questioned what plan county officials would have in place if a major earthquake left hundreds of residents without shelter.

"If we had an earthquake, we'd have to figure out where we would go if we needed 400 beds," Nelson said. "If we had to make 400 beds available within the next month, where would we do this emergency effort?"

Nelson said it was important to determine "what we do control so we won't have to ask anyone" for assistance with developing the property for a shelter.

The supervisor noted Santa Ana had an agreement with the county on a location for a homeless shelter in an industrial park, but the city council "ambushed" the county with a change of heart.

Supervisor Lisa Bartlett argued that county officials should also work harder to get state and federal officials involved in solving the homeless problem.

"We have to look at this as not just Orange County solving the homeless issue for all the counties in the state," Bartlett said. "We need to have a discussion at the federal level ... And every county needs to do its part."

Bartlett said she was concerned that if the county amplifies its services for transients, it would serve as a beacon for the homeless throughout the region.

"As word gets out, we'll end up with more individuals coming from other counties and states," Bartlett said.

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