Orange County officials are looking into how the county can be better prepared to house people living on the streets during times of extreme weather.
“The last couple of years have really been a learning process for us. Last year in particular, one of the challenges was that things came together late,” Doug Becht, director of the county’s Office of Care Coordination, said. “What we realized was, although cold weather only happens a few months during the year, it’s really a year-round discussion. We need to start talking about next year as early as possible.”
The county has provided cold weather shelters since at least 2007, usually at the National Guard armories in Santa Ana and Fullerton, and opened them as early as October. But finding a city in which to host the shelters has become a challenge the last couple of years.
In 2022, with the armories not available, an emergency shelter didn’t open until February. Santa Ana leaders pushed back over playing host again given the city had opened its own shelters, and there was a lack of interest from other cities. In the end, Fullerton offered its Independence Park gym amid a rainy spell.
So last year, the county’s Commission to End Homelessness switched gears, asking all 34 cities to host their own decentralized cold weather emergency shelters.
Becht said officials have learned that planning one or two emergency shelter sites to cover the whole the county isn’t optimal for serving those who are homeless because they can be too far away for people without transportation and can be more of a burden than communities are willing to shoulder.
Anaheim was the only city to answer that call with action, partnering with faith-based organizations to arrange for 50 beds. Unlike the traditional emergency shelter models of the past, Anaheim’s shelter was not open every night, but only activated seven times between Feb. 4 and April 5, mostly because of heavy rain.
Natalie Aguirre, a city of Anaheim spokesperson, said the sites served a total of 74 guests, a few of which wound up transitioning into a shelter program or accepting other services.
“Of course, no one should be living on the streets, especially when we do have these harsh weather conditions, whether it’s heavy rain or heat,” Aguirre said. “We always want to make sure that we are providing as many resources as we can. This was just one of the ways that we did it.”
The idea, Second District Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said, is to partner with cities to decentralize preparations, pointing to last year’s sites in Anaheim.
“A lot of what … we’ve heard was that this should be a shared responsibility amongst all 34 cities in our county,” Sarmiento said during the June 19 Commission to End Homelessness meeting. “I think if all of us lean in, even with a small share, we can help this problem and address it better.”
Sarmiento, who is also chair of the commission, said the model used in Anaheim, partnering with faith-based organizations, could be replicated in other parts of the county.
“This is something that the (Cold Weather Emergency Shelter Ad Hoc) is working really hard on,” Sarmiento said. “Looking at how we use our partners and work with our partners and support our partners, and see how we can find a way of networking this and not make it so difficult for one city to shoulder.”
The commission, Becht said, is looking at taking a more personal approach, connecting with cities one-on-one and possibly including Anaheim leaders to give cities an idea of how they can set up their own inclement weather sites.
“We understand communities have different needs, they have different resources and are able to approach this in different ways,” Becht said. “Often I’ll get asked really specific questions about what we’re expecting from the city. The city will ask, what model do you want? How much funding are you willing to give? What will this look like? I always say, ‘I really need to hear from you, what you all are thinking and what you’re all interested in. Based on that, we’ll be able to figure out how to partner with you all in the best possible way.’”
Some of those models may include working with faith-based groups or using park facilities or unused space in existing shelters, Becht added.
“What Anaheim did for the first time, which we’re excited about and think is good, is they used an activation-based model,” Becht said. “So the burden of doing something night in and night out is alleviated, based on really responding when it’s a true emergency.”
The Cold Weather Emergency Shelter Ad Hoc is also putting emphasis on broadening the scope of emergency shelters to address extreme weather whether dangerously cold, hot, windy or rainy, as well as focusing on preparation and not just response.
“What I am proud of is that for the last several years, every time we’ve operated some type of a response, it’s gone smooth. The impact on the community, night in and night out, has been fairly minimal,” Becht said.
“In order to ensure that we can continue providing good services to people who are experiencing homelessness,” he added, “we have to make sure that when communities let us in, we’re good neighbors and we’re respectful of that partnership and we ensure that we fulfill the commitments we’ve promised.”
