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Los Angeles County to consider limiting rental assistance for homeless Wednesday, March, 3, 2010
Free H1N1 flu shots for homeless is Los Angeles County’s way to prevent epidemic on the streets Tuesday, March, 2, 2010
San Diego photographer convenes local leaders to find solutions to homelessness Sunday, February, 28, 2010
From celebrity ghosts to formerly homeless, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is home to an eclectic group Thursday, February, 25, 2010
Is Los Angeles the country’s homeless step-child? Sunday, February, 21, 2010
Los Angeles City Attorney’s office operates unique program to help homeless people Friday, February, 19, 2010
Study reveals homelessness and poverty in Los Angeles has not changed after ten years Tuesday, February, 16, 2010
Los Angeles leaders believe a Census undercount of homelessness creates a resource-starved region Sunday, February, 14, 2010
TIME Magazine documents vehicular homelessness in Los Angeles Friday, February, 12, 2010
Los Angeles faith leaders meet to ensure homeless people get counted in the US Census
Tuesday, February, 9, 2010
The Real House-Less of Orange County: Homeless behind the Orange Curtain
The real Orange County, California is not the Bravo Television series of diva housewives sitting in their marbled kitchens behind iron gates of immaculate housing communities.
Impoverished families languishing in motel rooms outside of Disneyland or lining up to enter the Orange County Rescue Mission, the largest shelter in the county, dispel Bravo’s mirage of the good life in the OC.
In a county that possesses one of the most expensive housing markets in America, over 8,000 residents can’t even afford a simple apartment. They are homeless. The terms “Orange County” and “homeless” sound like an oxymoron, but this current national recession is affecting even this region’s pockets of wealth.
Unlike their neighbor to the north, however, Orange’s homeless population is not even close to the 50,000 people living on the streets of Los Angeles. But 8,000 homeless people in a county that is known around the world for its affluence, is still too much.
In response, the county appointed a blue ribbon panel of business, political, community, and agency leaders to design a strategy to address homelessness. Last month, the Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to approve a Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness that coordinates existing efforts to address homelessness, as well as endorse new models.
The plan promotes a “blended housing model” by linking homeless prevention to its successful transitional housing system, with the hope of building more affordable housing in the region.
“Orange County’s Ten Year Plan is a doable roadmap to provide positive solutions to homelessness in our region,” stated Dawn Lee, the Executive Director of OC Partnership, a nonprofit group that helps coordinate the region’s 200 agencies. “By bringing together the communities of business, faith, nonprofits, and government, we have a chance of providing enough housing for everyone.”
The timing of such a plan could not be better. The coastal community of Laguna Beach is a good example of homelessness penetrating affluent neighborhoods. Last year, this Orange County city settled a lawsuit filed by advocates who accused city leaders of criminalizing homelessness. A new temporary homeless shelter was the result of the settlement.
This county plan will guide all 34 cities in the area on how to address its homeless population effectively.
Orange County joins the cities of Long Beach, Glendale, and Pasadena in passing a Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness.
Picture is of Dawn Lee, the Executive Director of OC Partnership, and part of the OC leadership team for their Ten Year Plan. Dawn is standing in the courtyard of the OC Rescue Mission:
Posted 2010-02-11 15:01:42
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