CORRESPONDENCE - 50A - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

October 3, 2017 Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Dear Mayor and City Councilmembers, I'm writing to support Item 50A — Emergency Ordinance for the Civic Center. As a long time resident of Santa Ana, I have watched the City provide the most support to the homeless community with little help from the County and other cities. Only within the past year, with the homeless encampments along the SA River Trail and highly concentrated in Anaheim and Orange, have you seen a strong call for action. The City of Santa Ana has been working on the issue since the early 1990's. Your efforts to provide 1500+ affordable housing units and build transitional housing are commendable and compassionate. This number is significant given the very little developable land remaining in a small geographic area (27 square miles). The three large homeless residential projects underway are well thought out and should serve the community: • The Orchard 2151 East 1St Street 71 units • Aqua Housing 317 East 171h Street 56 units • Veterans Village 3312 West 1St Street 75 units 202 Total When examining the City's other shelters such as the Courtyard, the Armory during winter months, Wiseplace, Regina House, Joseph House, Emmanuel Residence, San Miguel Residence and the current Salvation Army hospitality house, total beds available range from 600 to 800 (when the Armory is open). I believe no other city provides this much shelter for people in need. I have studied the homeless issue over the last few months, read the County Homeless assessment reports, toured The Orchard, the Courtyard, the Plaza of the Flags/civic center, the Bridges in Anaheim and rode my bike on the SA River Trail. I'm sure you are aware of these items but sometimes seeing them in print makes the issue clearer. The Santa Ana Civic Center is significantly impacted. Why? • Needle exchange program (no other county location) • Naloxone kit distribution (no other county location) • Courtyard is an open shelter unlike Bridges in Anaheim. Homeless individuals are directed to this location by other public agencies • Well meaning groups from other cities continuously feed, cloth and deliver goods 0 Central Jail — inmate release.