The results of the biennial Orange County Point in Time Count are in. It was a groundbreaking effort by the County of Orange, CityNet, 211 OC, as well as service providers, law enforcement and more than 1,000 volunteers using an electronic mapping system. We now have a significantly better handle on how many of our neighbors are homeless and where they are.

Bottom line? There are 6,860 people experiencing homelessness in Orange County. The count also shows that in the last two years that there has been an increase of 1,390 shelter beds into our system, and while this is good news we must remember that people need places to go after shelter so their homelessness can end.

This is why we brought local leaders together last year to form United to End Homelessness so that we, as a community, can work together to enact long-term, proven solutions. The count data shows that 52% of the unsheltered population are chronically homeless which reinforces the urgency and need for more permanent supportive housing in our community.

To conintue reading this article, please click HERE.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Homeless and Housing Resource Network (HHRN) is hosting a three-part Spotlight Series, Taking Behavioral Health Care to the Streets. This series will discuss how to provide behavioral health care in unsheltered environments. The first webinar in the series is coming up soon – register today!

HHRN is the SAMHSA training and technical assistance center that shares knowledge and best practices for preventing and ending homelessness.

Thursday, April 25, 2019
3:30 - 5:00 PM EDT
Register Today

In this webinar, participants will learn about the need for behavioral health-focused outreach and engagement, as well as how to implement outreach and engagement strategies and build relationships with clients. The following panelists will share their expertise in behavioral health and homelessness:

• Barbara DiPietro, PhD, Senior Director of Policy, National Health Care for the Homeless Council and Health Care for the Homeless of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland
• Brian Bickford, MA, LMHC, Central Massachusetts PATH Team Leader, Eliot Community Human Services, Worcester, Massachusetts
• Amanda Buccina, RN, Street Outreach RN, Sacramento, California
• Tracey Knickerbocker, BA, Mobile Crisis Support Team Peer Navigator, TLCS/Hope Cooperative, Sacramento, California

Participants will learn how to:

• Provide person-centered, behavioral health-focused outreach in encampments with an emphasis on building trust and meaningful relationships
• Engage unsheltered people with serious mental illness through multi-disciplinary teams, peer specialists, and trauma-informed care
• Incorporate behavioral health considerations into organized efforts to support individuals in encampments

Please save the dates for future webinars in this series:

• Webinar 2: Thursday, May 30, 2019, 3:30-5:00 PM EDT - Building a Foundation on the Streets—Assessing Behavioral Health Needs in Encampments
• Webinar 3: Thursday, June 27, 2019, 3:30-5:00 PM EDT - Behavioral Health Care Outside of the Box—Providing Services and Treatment to Unsheltered Persons

Visit the HUD Exchange at https://www.hudexchange.info

The Orange County Armory Emergency Shelter in Fullerton will be closed: Friday, March 8th through Sunday, March 10th, 2019.

The Armory will reopen Monday, March 11th, 2019.

For more information, call 714-836-7188, ext. 170

The Armory Emergency Shelter Program serves adult clients over the age of 18.

The Orange County Armory Emergency Shelter is located at the Santa Ana Armory. Serving adult clients over the age of 18 ONLY.

The Santa Ana Armory is located at 612 E Warner (Near Warner/Main). Doors open at this location at 7:00 PM*

*Dates and locations of Operation are tentative and subject to change as necessary by the California National Guard

BUS PICK-UP LOCATIONS:

Pick Up #1 Picking up at 6:00 PM, Flower & Civic Center - near 6th Street, Santa Ana.

Pick Up #2 Picking up at 6:15PM, 1901 W Walnut, Santa Ana.

Please note that no walk-ups are permitted.

• No weapons, drugs or alcohol will be permitted in or around the shelter.
• Clients are required to have their photos taken upon intake.
• Services include a warm meal, a sleeping mat and blanket, and the opportunity to shower.
• All clients must exit the shelter at 6:00 AM each morning.

FOR MORE DETAILS, CONTACT: The ARMORY INFORMATION LINE ​at: 714-836-7188 ext 170

The First Day of Winter. The Longest Night of the Year. A National Day of Remembrance.

Each year, thousands of individuals experiencing homelessness die on the streets of our nation due to illness, exposure or violence. Many from our very own community of Orange County.

Please join us as we honor and acknowledge their lives as part of the human family.

December 21, 2018, 7:00 pm. 

In the Arboretum at Christ Cathedral

13280 Chapman Avenue, Garden Grove, CA 92840

To provide the name of someone you know who has lost their life on the streets in Orange County (so they can be acknowledged at the service) OR to RSVP, contact Esther Ramirez at 714-282-6001 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Organized by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, Our Father's Table and HomeAid Orange County. 

To download the flyer, please click HERE.

VOTERS APPROVE PROPs 1 and 2 INVESTMENTS IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR VETERANS, WORKING FAMILIES, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND MANY MORE CALIFORNIANS.

The Kennedy Commission wants to thank all of you for supporting California's tremendous investment in affordable housing and for helping us pass Props 1 and 2, a combined $6 BILLION in new funding for the development and preservation of affordable and supportive homes.

"We are excited that Californians are investing in solutions that will increase affordable housing options in our communities. For us in Orange County, this presents an opportunity to help us leverage resources to address our affordable housing and homelessness crisis," said Cesar Covarrubias, Executive Director of the Kennedy Commission.

Prop 1 will dedicate funding to build and preserve housing, including supportive housing, and provide homeowner assistance through a variety of proven and effective programs, including:

• Multifamily Housing Program - $1.5 billion
• Cal-Vet Farm and Home Loan Program - $1 billion
• Infill Infrastructure Grant Financing - $300 million
• Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program - $300 million
• Local Housing Trust Match Grant Program - $300 million
• CalHome - $300 million
• CalHFA Home Purchase Assistance - $150 million
• Transit-Oriented Development Program - $150 million

The state is expected to issue its first notices of funding availability in early 2019.

Prop 2 is equally important, providing supportive homes for our fellow Californians living with a mental illness struggling to survive on the streets or in shelters without the stability and access to services they need. With $2 billion, Prop 2 will build an additional 20,000 supportive rental homes that provide mental health services to help end homelessness for thousands of people. Homelessness advocates, doctors, mental health professionals, emergency responders, and law enforcement all agree – supportive housing works and we need it if we are to end chronic homelessness in California.

Click HERE for the Courtyard Transitional Center's ONovember 4-10, 2018 newsletter. Sign up at www.citynet.org/courtyard for the Courtyard Newsletter to receive more information about the Courtyard! 

Click HERE for the Courtyard Transitional Center's October 21-27, 2018 newsletter. Sign up at www.citynet.org/courtyard for the Courtyard Newsletter to receive more information about the Courtyard! 

Click HERE for the Courtyard Transitional Center's September 30 - October 6, 2018 newsletter. Sign up at www.citynet.org/courtyard for the Courtyard Newsletter to receive more information about the Courtyard! 

Quickly getting people into housing is one central function of a homelessness system. But when unsheltered homelessness starts to rise, communities sometimes shift their focus from housing to shelter.

This is certainly understandable. Living on the street is brutally dangerous, and keeping people safe while getting them housed is important. However, these are not two separate functions. Without a focus on housing people quickly, a community with a large unsheltered homelessness problem will struggle to find a solution. A strong Housing First system, on the other hand, can have a big impact on unsheltered homelessness, perhaps bigger than the impact of opening more shelters. 

EVERY FRONT DOOR NEEDS A BACK DOOR
Shelters need a back door. And that back door needs to exit people to housing.

If the only response is more shelter, each new shelter will quickly fill up, and unsheltered homelessness will continue to grow. But each person who moves from shelter to housing creates another open bed for a person who is currently on the streets.

The math is simple. If 100 people each month are becoming homeless in a community, then 100 people each month must exit into housing. Otherwise, shelters will fill up and stay full, and the number of unsheltered people will keep rising. While many communities have a need for more shelter, this is not the only answer...

To continue reading this article, please click HERE to visit the National Alliance to End Homelessness website.