Santa Ana to Consider Cracking Down on Homeless Encampments

Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua is calling connected her colleagues to instrumentality stronger enactment against stateless encampments with a caller ordinance – perchance joining a big of cities who person bolstered anti-camping laws successful the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.

“We cannot proceed to crook a unsighted oculus and we indispensable not marque excuses,” reads a Nov. 1 Facebook post from the Mayor announcing she plans to suggest an ordinance to assistance the metropolis code homelessness.

The petition comes months aft the Supreme Court overturned a lawsuit that required cities to connection structure to stateless radical earlier they were allowed to wide them disconnected the streets.

In the aftermath of that ruling, cities crossed OC person stepped up enforcement efforts and enhanced anti-camping laws – a determination that activists accidental volition pb to the criminalization of radical sleeping connected the streets and worsen the crisis.

Brooke Weitzman, co-founder and directing lawyer of the Elder Law Disability Rights Center, said successful a Thursday substance connection that it is disappointing to spot cities trying to usage the region jailhouse arsenic housing.

“We anticipation Santa Ana volition take to respect the rights of its residents and refocus connected capable services and housing. This is captious fixed the increasing fig of seniors surviving and dying successful our streets and their unsocial needs,” she wrote.

At their 5:30 p.m. gathering connected Tuesday, Santa Ana officials volition see bolstering the city’s municipal codification connected camping and adopting an ordinance that would prohibit leaving idiosyncratic spot unattended successful nationalist and prohibit sleeping successful a nationalist restroom oregon connected a nationalist bench.

The ordinance would besides prohibit anyone from staying astatine the civic center, a nationalist plaza oregon parkland betwixt 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and prohibit blocking entree to buildings oregon sidewalks.

Amezcua’s connection would besides prohibition sleeping connected autobus benches oregon sitting connected a autobus seat 1 hr earlier services statesman and instantly aft services end.

Officials volition besides see updating connection successful the municipal codification that would see surviving successful a car successful its explanation for camping.

Violating the projected instrumentality could effect successful a misdemeanor oregon infraction. A constabulary serviceman could besides take to instrumentality anyone who violates the instrumentality to get intelligence wellness oregon substance maltreatment attraction alternatively of taking them to jailhouse if the idiosyncratic consents to getting help.

A antheral and his belongings successful beforehand of the county’s erstwhile Courtyard stateless structure successful Santa Ana during a large rainstorm connected Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. About a twelvemonth earlier, the region softly unopen down the shelter, which was the lone debased obstruction walk-in structure successful OC. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

Efforts to crackdown connected camping person already kicked disconnected successful Santa Ana.

City Manager Alvaro Nuñez said astatine a assembly gathering past period that Santa Ana constabulary officers are clearing retired encampments on the privately owned Union Pacific Railroad.

[Read: Santa Ana Ramps Up Crackdowns connected Homeless Encampments, Clears Railroad]

His remarks came aft Amezcua called astatine respective nationalist meetings this twelvemonth for officials to instrumentality a basal against 1 of the city’s biggest issues – homelessness – and apprehension radical who are breaking the law.

[Read: How Are Santa Ana Officials Going to Address Homeless Encampments?]

Amezcua, who’s been heavy backed by the constabulary national and is connected way to beryllium re-elected arsenic mayor, said astatine the Oct. 15 gathering that the metropolis offers assistance programs and a structure for stateless people.

She besides said that immoderate of the radical surviving connected the streets person agelong transgression records – including execution and battle charges

“If they don’t privation the assistance, past they request to spell determination other and they request to not beryllium successful our metropolis causing a problem,” she said astatine the Oct. 15 meeting.  “What we request to bash is instrumentality power and instrumentality backmost our metropolis and not let them to beryllium dropped disconnected present from different cities.”

OC Cities Crackdown connected Homelessness

Santa Ana isn’t unsocial successful cracking down connected encampments.

Officials successful Anaheim, Newport Beach, San Clemente and Aliso Viejo person each revamped their anti-camping laws successful the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.

Last week, Irvine officials strengthened their anti-camping ordinance aft backing retired of a stateless structure astatine the past infinitesimal pursuing nationalist pushback.

[Read: Irvine Looks to Crackdown connected Illegal Camping After Homeless Shelter Reversal]

Last month, Garden Grove officials voted to present an ordinance that prohibits camping astatine nationalist spaces and prohibits blocking entree to nationalist places similar sidewalks, benches, parks and tempest drains.

Garden Grove Councilman George Brietigram – who requested the ordinance – said astatine the Oct. 22 metropolis assembly gathering that the metropolis has tackled the stateless contented caput connected by introducing a big of resources including opening a shelter, but galore radical proceed to garbage help.

[Read: Garden Grove Looks to Crack Down connected Homeless Encampments After Supreme Court Ruling]

“It’s not healthy. It’s not compassionate to let them to dice successful the streets,” helium said. 

“The full intent of it is for it to beryllium utilized compassionately, not draconian. We privation to promote them first, to instrumentality vantage of each these services that we have, and then, if each other –  atrocious we person this law. You can’t proceed to beryllium here.”

Homeless successful Santa Ana

Homeless encampment successful Santa Ana. May 13, 2021. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

Earlier this year, region leaders reported 7,322 stateless radical successful Orange County – a astir 2,000-person summation successful the county’s stateless colonisation since 2022.

Over 4,100 of those radical were sleeping connected the streets.

[Read: Orange County Homeless Population Continues Growing]

According to the latest count, determination are 1,428 stateless radical successful Santa Ana – the highest retired of immoderate metropolis successful OC – and 871 of them are unsheltered.

This year, the Orange County Sheriff’s section released a report that showed adjacent to 500 stateless radical died successful 2022 – an summation of 25.6% from 2021.

About 19% of those deaths – 95 radical – happened successful Santa Ana, according to the report.

Hosam Elattar is simply a Voice of OC newsman and corps subordinate with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him astatine helattar@voiceofoc.org oregon connected Twitter @ElattarHosam.

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