The cold weather waits for no one, and still with no cold weather shelter in place, advocates worry Orange County is behind in providing for the local homeless population this winter season.
Although days are forecasted to be warm throughout the next week, a National Weather Service meteorologist said nights will continue to be cold – most dipping to the mid-40s. That may not be too concerning for some, but being unsheltered and cold creates challenges and trauma for the region’s unhoused.
Most shelters in Orange County don’t take walk-ups, that is why the county has traditionally opened emergency shelters during the winter months so people have a place to at least get out of the cold overnight. But as the winter trudges on, and with no shelter currently in place, advocates say action from local leaders is not being taken quickly enough.
“The cold weather shelters, the brilliance of those is everybody qualifies. If you’re cold, you can just go inside,” said Katherine White, director of operations and patient care for Wound Walk OC, an organization that offers first aid and other resources to people living on the street. “In the end, we’ve just got to get people inside. You cannot leave them out to just die.”
The county has provided emergency shelters since at least 2007, most often at the National Guard armories in Santa Ana and Fullerton. They often opened as early as October and were offered until spring.
Last year, an emergency shelter didn’t open until February after push-back from Santa Ana over hosting one again after opening more of its own shelters, and a lack of interest from other cities. In the end, Fullerton offered its Independence Park gym.
Doug Becht, director of the county’s Office of Care Coordination, said city mayors and managers were sent letters in August asking what their individual city needs are during winter and to “generally explore the potential” for each city to host a cold weather emergency shelter of…
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