New Santa Ana | Category Archives: homeless

The OC Rescue Mission in critical need of 35K diapers for homeless families

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Charities, homeless, Orange County, Tustin Leave a comment

ORANGE COUNTY RESCUE MISSION IN CRITICAL NEED OF MORE THAN 35,000 DIAPERS;
CALLS ON COMMUNITY FOR DONATIONS AND DIAPER DRIVES

Orange County, Calif. (September 12, 2018) – The Orange County Rescue Mission has announced a critical need for size 4, 5, and 6 diapers, boys and girls pull-up diapers of all sizes, and baby wipes for its high number of toddlers and young children living at The Village of Hope, the Rescue Mission’s transitional living facility in Orange County.

The nonprofit is urgently seeking help from the local community to provide a total of 34,700 large-size diapers, 2,500 pull-up diapers, and 121,875 baby wipes according to Jim Palmer, President of the Orange County Rescue Mission. Continue reading→

A homeless woman fell through the ceiling of a Mexican restaurant in Garden Grove

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Drugs, Garden Grove, homeless Leave a comment

A person recorded the moment the woman fell through the ceiling tiles of Sabroso! Mexican Grill in Garden Grove Sunday. The restaurant said she asked to use the bathroom and an employee obliged. She went into the bathroom and was there for a long time, causing a line to form. A short while later, she broke through one of the red ceiling tiles and fell to the ground, according to CBS News. Continue reading→

Orange County will install new fences to keep the homeless out of the flood control channels

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Andrew Do, Crime, homeless, OC Sheriff, Orange County, Public Safety, public works, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Current fencing at Fisher Park

Public Safety: Orange County Installs Secure Fencing at 24 Sites along Flood Control Channels to Prevent Homeless Encampments

Santa Ana, California – The County of Orange is installing new fencing at 24 sites along flood control channels to keep neighborhoods safe and prevent homeless encampments.

Supervisor Andrew Do, Chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, worked with city leaders, county staff and law enforcement agencies on the fencing projects in Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Westminster after reports of criminal activity, including a series of fires set by a homeless arsonist. Continue reading→

Nationwide Foundation donates $65K to a homeless shelter in Santa Ana

Posted on August 19, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Andrew Do, Charities, homeless, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Nationwide Foundation Donates to OC Homeless Shelter

The Nationwide Foundation is helping Orange County provide assistance to the homeless community

On Monday, August 20, Nationwide Foundation will present a $65,000 check to The Midnight Mission to install a pet area at Orange County’s Courtyard homeless shelter, one of the few homeless shelters in Orange County that accepts pets. There aren’t many places for homeless people with pets to go. As a result, many choose to continue living on the streets, where they don’t have the same access to services. Nationwide Foundation, The Midnight Mission and Orange County look forward to breaking ground on the project and reaching more of the Orange County homeless community. Continue reading→

Orange County Health Plan approves $10 million for homeless recuperative beds

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Andrew Do, Health and Medical, homeless, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Homelessness: Orange County Health Plan Approves $10 Million for Homeless Recuperative Beds

Alleviates Burden on Emergency Rooms, Speeds up Recovery for Homeless Patients

Orange, California (August 2, 2018) – Orange County will soon get a much-needed boost in the number of recuperative medical beds for the homeless.

Under a plan, authored by Supervisor Andrew Do, Orange County’s health plan for low-income residents will dedicate $10 million towards additional recuperative care beds that help sick or injured homeless patients recover. Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana has finally taken a stand against the distribution of drug needles

Posted on June 25, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Drugs, homeless, Santa Ana 1 Comment

City of Santa Ana

Needle Exchange

On June 25, 2018, the City of Santa Ana officially provided a letter to the California Department of Public Health declaring the City of Santa Ana’s strong opposition to the proposed Orange County Needle Exchange Program (“OCNEP”) application for certification of mobile syringe needle exchange services, in the City of Santa Ana. A similar letter, dated June 8, 2018 from the City of Santa Ana’s Chief of Police, was submitted to the California Department of Public Health opposing the operation of the OCNEP Mobile Needle Exchange. The letter referenced the standards for refusal to certify an initial SEP Application, indicating “here, the harm to public safety significantly outweighs the benefits to public health conferred by the OCNEP.” Continue reading→

The Costa Mesa police department takes a stand against the needle exchange program

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Costa Mesa, Crime, Drugs, homeless 1 Comment

Costa Mesa Police Department

AdvisoryCMPD opposes the OC Needle Exchange Program

The Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) submitted a supplemental memo today to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to oppose the Orange County Needle Exchange Program (OCNEP). Continue reading→

The County of Orange continues to address homelessness

Posted on June 13, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in homeless, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Board of Supervisors Continues its Momentum to Address Homelessness

County directive to expedite 11 housing projects for the $70.5 million MHSA funding allocation
Unveiled the Housing Funding Strategy to develop 2,700 housing units
Declaration from the County to receive approximately $15.5 million in state Emergency Homelessness Aid Block grants

Santa Ana, Calif. (June 12, 2018) – Today the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a County directive to expedite 11 housing projects in the pipeline for Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funding, unveiled a Housing Funding Strategy to develop 2,700 housing units and paved the way to receive approximately $15.5 million in state Emergency Homelessness Aid Block Grant funding by declaring a Homeless Shelter Crisis.

“Today’s board action represents ongoing progress to leverage state resources to meet local objectives. Our continued goal is to build a system of care, in collaboration with our city partners, that is responsive to the needs of homeless individuals in helping them transition out of homelessness,” said Chairman Andrew Do, First District Supervisor. Continue reading→

The OC Board of Supervisors is opposing distribution of drug needles in Santa Ana’s Civic Center

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Drugs, homeless, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Orange County Vows to Fight Plan for Expanded Needle Exchange

Santa Ana, California – After removing 14,000 dirty needles from the Santa Ana Riverbed, Orange County is fighting a proposal to give away more needles to addicts.

On Tuesday, a unanimous Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to oppose a pending application with the California Department of Public Health for a mobile needle giveaway program in Orange County. Continue reading→

A homeless man has been identified as the Cozy Corner robber who was shot by a customer

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, homeless, Restaurants, Santa Ana, SAPD Leave a comment

Steve Rodriguez, a 60-year-old homeless man, was identified by the SAPD as the alleged robber who was shot by an unidentified customer at the Cozy Corner Drive-In restaurant just past midnight this past Saturday, according to the SAPD.

On 05-26-18 at 12:46 a.m., SAPD police officers were dispatched to 426 N. Harbor Blvd. reference a robbery and shooting that had just occurred. A Male/Hispanic/Adult later identified as suspect Steve Rodriguez entered the Cozy Corner restaurant and was in the process of committing an armed robbery with a black revolver. During the robbery a silver Honda Accord occupied by several subjects was stopped in the drive-thru lane by the window. An occupant in the vehicle shot robbery suspect Rodriguez twice in the upper torso. Suspect Rodriguez was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. The suspect and vehicle involved in the shooting of Rodriguez fled the scene southbound on Harbor Blvd. Officers were able to obtain surveillance video of the incident. Continue reading→

The County of Orange approves $1.6M to prevent the homeless from returning to the riverbed and the Civic Center

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Andrew Do, homeless, Housing, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Homelessness: County Approves $1.6 Million to Prevent Return of Riverbed & Civic Center Encampments

Orange County is taking steps to prevent the return of homeless encampments at the Santa Ana Civic Center and Riverbed, which were permanently cleared earlier this year.

Today, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved $1.6 million for supportive housing services for homeless individuals that were removed from the Santa Ana Riverbed and Civic Center. In March, the county cleared 13,950 needles, 400 tons of debris and 5,279 pounds of hazardous waste from the Riverbed encampment. Continue reading→

Santa Ana homeless update from O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Andrew Do, Crime, homeless, Orange County, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Study Session on Homelessness

This week Chairman Andrew Do called for a Study Session on Homelessness for the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

The meeting focused on building the County’s System of Care including mental health system integration, existing permanent supportive housing and units that in the pipeline, and federal funding sources allocated to the County and cities in Orange County. Continue reading→

They are trying to give away syringes to drug addicts, in Downtown Santa Ana, again!

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Drugs, homeless, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Remember the nonprofit Orange County Needle Exchange Program , the weekly needle exchange program that made such a mess at Santa Ana’s Civic Center? Well the same nonprofit that got booted before is back – seeking state approval to bring needles back to our Downtown to give to homeless drug addicts, according to the O.C. Register.

These folks want to bring a van or some other type of vehicle to the area bounded by (N) East 4th Street, (E) North Standard Ave, (S) South Grand Avenue, and (W) East Chestnut Avenue, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at least once a week, with more frequent service as needed. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council has decided to sue all Orange County cities over the homeless issue

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in homeless, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Santa Ana Expands Legal Action on Homelessness. City Will Add All Other Orange County Cities to Lawsuit

SANTA ANA, CA – On Wednesday evening, the Santa Ana City Council directed the City’s legal counsel to take legal action against all Orange County cities and the County of Orange to compel parties to take immediate steps toward addressing homelessness throughout the County. Santa Ana will file the action by the end of the week.

The decision from the Santa Ana City Council closely followed a Tuesday afternoon decision from the Orange County Board of Supervisors to unanimously reject a shelter site proposal by south county mayors. Last week, the group of mayors proposed putting a homeless shelter in a remote canyon on property currently used as a pre-school and public library. The County has tasked cities with identifying and proposing homeless shelter sites. Continue reading→

The County of Orange has bolstered mental health services again

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Andrew Do, homeless, Mental Health, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Orange County Bolsters Mental Health Support Services

By: First District Supervisor Andrew Do

Orange County is bolstering its non-crisis mental health support hotline after experiencing a 56 percent surge in non-emergency calls last year.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a new contract today that will provide more than a half-million dollars in funding for OC Warmline, a free and confidential non-crisis service for residents that are experiencing a mental health problem or behavioral health issue. Continue reading→