We’ve written about the escalating situation outside the Civic Center in Santa Ana before. The area is flooded with homeless encampments and the conditions are now threatening public health and safety. With drug use and disease rampant among the 500 or so individuals living outside the facility, officials feel forced to take action.
On Tuesday, the City Council declared a “public health and safety homeless crisis” and called for an increase in security around the Civic Center. Under the new resolution, the city will place pressure on Orange County to open a service center for the homeless and step up police presence in the area. The Council is also calling for a summit with the county and 33 other cities to address the crisis.
Just hours before the vote, the Orange County Board of Supervisors also approved a plan to convert an old Santa Ana bus terminal into a temporary homeless shelter. But that won’t be enough to solve the problems around Santa Ana’s government center.
The problem is not limited to the Civic Center, nor even to Santa Ana or Orange County. Local governments across the state are clamoring for meaningful action to address the homeless crisis. Some blame Gov. Jerry Brown’s realignment program; others blame economics, housing issues or other government policies. One thing they all agree on: homelessness is a major problem affecting cities and counties throughout California.
Despite that agreement, the governor has refused to declare a state of emergency on homelessness. That hasn’t stopped local governments from trying to persuade him to do so, however.
Read more about Tuesday’s vote here.