CORRESPONDENCE - 65B - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Orozco, Norma From:Tim Johnson <tjohnson@jlkrllp.com> Sent:Tuesday, June 16, 2020 8:59 AM To:Sarmiento, Vicente; Pulido, Miguel; Solorio, Jose; Penaloza, David; Bacerra, Phil; Villegas, Juan; Mendoza, Nelida; eComment Subject:Item 65B- Public Comment As the city council contemplates item 65B as it relates to the operating agreement with Illumination Foundation (IF) of a homeless shelter on Carnegie, I would like to offer my support for such item. Our city needs to replace The Link which this facility appears to do. I will refer to the new shelter as Carnegie. The location of Carnegie is quite possibly the best location for those concerned about proximity to Santa Ana residents and schools. Obviously, more and more development is going on in that area but that development is happening, or already happened, after homeless shelters have been placed in the area giving residents notice of the possible impacts. I offer my support because it is the right thing to do for those who are experiencing the struggle with housing and living on the streets. A shelter, although not true housing, provides respite. I pray that the city and IF provides the housing and services that those experiencing homelessness will need to continue on a journey to more secure housing. Now, we should strive to make this project better than the Link though. As such, I encourage you to work with IF to provide:  Separate rooms and bathroom facilities for those in recuperative care instead of dorm style living…for those needing recuperative care this is ultimately very important.  Separate rooms for those who are making progress in their recovery plans  Compliance with all CDC and other health guidance as it relates to social distancing and other measures to protect participants from COVID19 and other similar viruses. This likely would include greater than currently planned spacing between living areas, physical barriers between beds, increased overall space in common areas, and more. Please utilize what we are learning about C19 right now to help Carnegie operate better. Yes, this means that more space is needed per person and likely the dorm style beds with no barriers in one common room that we have become accustomed to seeing would no longer be acceptable.  Overnight parking for those who are living out their cars or RVs. I would also encourage the council to consider the next level of housing after shelter. The goal should not be for individuals to spend significant time in the shelter but instead to rest, recover, recuperate, and come up with a plan for the next level. This means that our city needs to continue to expand Permanent Supportive Housing and other appropriate options for those who may be staying at Carnegie. Carnegie should not be a landing spot but instead a temporary stay. Our shelters should operate like an Emergency Room at the hospitals…a place to be triaged and then moved along to a more appropriate level of care. Please strive to start looking at shelters as the ER for those experiencing homelessness. It is not only economically more viable, but also the right thing to due for our fellow human beings. Further, please provide assurance in public forum that the recuperative beds are to be prioritized for Santa Ana residents and not for county wide use even though they will be funded by the County’s health insurance agency, CalOptima. There is concern that since Cal Optima is involved that there may be some inability to prioritize the recuperative beds for our local residents in need instead of those directed to Carnegie by Cal Optima. Please also work with the county on improving the Yale facility which will be located here in Santa Ana despite it being for all of the Central SPA. Other cities in the Central SPA including Garden Grove, Westminster, and other neighbors need to step up and help instead of pushing their homeless to our city. 1