Homeless Project Funding Approved By OC Board Of Supervisors

MISSION VIEJO, CA — The next five years will be key toward solving homeless issues, the Orange County Board of Supervisors said. On Tuesday, the board approved spending $13.4 million for homeless shelters over that timeframe.

Nearly $6.9 million was approved toward the Midnight Mission who will operate the Courtyard Transitional Center, a former bus station in downtown Santa Ana. The board also approved spending $870,208 for other services at the Courtyard.

The board also approved $4.6 million for the SAFEPlace shelter for women and $968,458 for Washington Place, which provides shelter for couples.

Will the Courtyard remain in service? According to Supervisor Andrew Do, the Courtyard first opened in October 2016 as a temporary shelter and as of June has provided shelter for approximately 400 homeless each night.

There's consensus among county and Santa Ana officials to shut it down, but it is unclear what will replace it. The Orange County Board of Supervisors hopes that their other building acquisitions, such as the industrial building on Yale Street, may get more homeless off the streets.

County officials in November spent $12.25 million acquiring an industrial building at 2229 S. Yale St. to build a shelter, but some newly elected Santa Ana City Council members have offered "mixed messages" about the city's involvement in the project, Supervisor Andrew Do said.

The City Council members who voted for the Yale Street project "are not speaking up to defend it," according to Do.

The county bought the building "at the suggestion of the Santa Ana City Council," Do said. "The county is left in a position where we don't where the county stands with the shelter proposal. They can either make this a joint project... or they can simply tell the county to do it alone. But don't come back later and complain they weren't a part of it."