For the first time, Orange County will not open additional winter shelter spaces for the unhoused community, instead relying on existing beds.
In previous years, the county operated two shelters during winter months at the National Guard armories in Fullerton and Santa Ana, but those efforts ended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, Anaheim agreed to operate temporary winter shelters, but that won’t happen this year.
The county is transitioning from a countywide singular site model to a city-based approach, Doug Becht, director of the Office of Care Coordination at the County of Orange, said.
“We know when inclement weather is coming, especially in the winter, the cold weather is coming so we don’t wait for it to come,” Becht said. “We have our outreach teams out there engaging folks, trying to get them in before there is an immediate need.”
The county currently runs two emergency shelters, the Bridges at Kramer Place in Anaheim and the Yale Navigation Center in Santa Ana, which accounts for more than 600 beds. Additionally, Becht said, the county funds about a dozen other shelters in partnerships with cities and nonprofits across Orange County that total around 1,000 beds.
Homelessness went up 28% in Orange County compared to the last point in time count in 2022, according to data released in May. According to the count that happens every other year, 7,322 were experiencing homelessness with over half unsheltered.
“There’s always more that we need and that we can do,” Becht said.
Emergency shelters in previous years
In January, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a contract with Anaheim for $150,000 to be used…
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