City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County
Community Alert: Santa Ana City Council Approves Funding to Address Chronic Homelessness
At last night’s meeting, the Santa Ana City Council unanimously approved approximately $1.2 million in HOME Investment Partnership Program funds for the Guest House project. This is the first permanent supportive housing project for chronically homeless individuals in Santa Ana and one of the largest projects to provide housing for homeless individuals in Orange County.
The Guest House is located at 2151 E. First Street and is being developed by Community Development Partners through the rehabilitation of an existing hotel. The Guest House will provide 57 studio units and 14 one-bedroom units serving homeless residents. The design will feature four two-story buildings, a community garden, commercial kitchen, outdoor courtyard and laundry facilities.
“The goal of the Guest House is to reduce chronic homelessness in Santa Ana. Thanks to the leadership of our Mayor and City Council, we are able to provide the financial resources needed to make this project a reality and further our efforts to address homelessness in our community,” stated City Manager David Cavazos who also serves on the OC Commission to End Homelessness.
Mercy House will be the lead service provider for the project offering wrap-around supportive services tailored to the needs of the residents. The supportive services program will be based on Housing First principles coupled with on-going education and case management that focus on the needs of chronically homeless individuals. [Housing First is a homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing people experiencing homelessness with permanent housing as quickly as possible – and then providing voluntary supportive services as needed.]
The project promotes the City’s goal of providing long-term affordable housing and meeting the affordable housing goals as identified in the City’s Strategic Plan, Housing Element and Consolidated Five-Year Plan.
Great! Santa Ana will be home for all OC homeless. Civic Center and the library is homeless hub. The area is dirty and unsafe. Ive seem people defacating on the streets, syringes and other drug paraphernalia. I have great memories of the SA library as a kid, but unfortunately my child won’t, I dont feel safe taking my child there. Its nice that all these non-profits and churches come and feed the homeless in SA, but why not do all these charitables acts in your city and on your own premises? Oh no, more affluent cities dont want all the homeless from SA (that by the way some of the homeless get arrested for minor stuff in other cities and get dumped at the SA jail, and guess where they end up?). Im all about helping people and doing good, but there has to be a county wide inneciative to help with issue. A homeless hotel is not the answer.
Unbelievable…The Guesthouse Inn & Suites is the reason that I became homeless in the first place. I am a single mother with two daughters and had been renting a studio unit at the Guesthouse Inn & Suites for 3 years. There were a number of families that resided there long term. Some for 5+ years when we were all given 90 day notices to vacate. Unfortunately, I was unable to find an apartment due to credit issues and come 90 days found myself having to pack up all our belongings and place them in storage. With nowhere else to go, my daughters & I began staying in hotels while I continued to work at my 8 to 5 full time job. Goal was to only do this short term until finding a permanent place to live. 5 days upon leaving the Guesthouse, while getting ready to leave work, I slipped in a puddle of water in the parking lot at a hotel & cracked my knee cap. I went to the emergency room but because I had no medical insurance and the hotel were I slipped denied my claim, I was not able to seek the medical help I needed and had to take off multiple days at work due to the pain of my knee. I ended up getting laid off, lost my car because I could keep up with the payments etc. Its been a terrible struggle. Many thanks to the Mercy House for accepting myself & my daughters into one of their 90 day housing programs so that I could get back on my feet. I am now working again and take the bus to get everywhere but hopefully I can get a vehicle once I file for taxes. Currently trying to find an apartment here in Santa Ana as its time to for my kids and I to be leaving this program. Just wanted to share my story because after reading this article, I truly felt disgusted & saddened that the same place that caused me so much grieve was now part of this project. Since originally leaving the Guesthouse Inn & Suites, the original property owners had sold the place so the current Management had nothing to do with the original displacement of quite a number of families.
If. You really wanted to help homeless. 1. Clean the street pick up trash 2.stop ask for for money 3.stop sell the ebt for dope get a life and stop give hand out