Editor’s note: This is the third story in a series examining homelessness in Orange County, including the cities of Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.Some cities have relatively robust resources. Others have very few. And no city has declared itself to be in charge.
The challenge now is summoning the political will, often over the objections of residents, to move ahead with solutions to homelessness. An elected official’s political fortunes could be determined by one controversial vote — and when it comes to homelessness, controversy is rarely in short supply.Newport Beach residents opposed to a proposed homeless shelter rally outside City Hall before a City Council meeting in October.
"“The ‘NIMBYs’ want everybody to just leave out of their neighborhoods, but they have to go somewhere. Somebody needs to ask at one point, ‘Whose backyard is it going to be? Where are we going to put them?’”“We have patients from the entire 50 states ending up here,” he said. “Our weather attracts people from many other states. So, I seriously doubt that the majority of people living on our streets are Huntington Beach residents.
Homeless people say they are aware of how they’re perceived. “It’s almost to a point where people are giving you resources, but they almost think they’re enabling you,” said Josh Webster, 42, a homeless resident of Laguna Beach. “But at the same time, it’s like you need those resources just to survive.”
“When we do that, we are able to distance ourselves from them, because if we turn somebody into the ‘other,’ especially ... when we kind of assign blame to them — that it’s their fault that they are this way — it’s very easy for them to remain the other, and then we don’t need to engage.”
DA ANZSER’Z 2 FYX OMELEZZ-NEZZ, R AWL AH ROUWND UZ. DA YNNERNETT IZ FEWL UV ANZSER’Z 2 FYX DIZ PRAWBLUM! DUZ DA GUVERNMENT VWANT 2 KYLL DA OMELEZZ! ZOW MUSH TAWK U EER AN REED UBOUWT DIZ.DA OMELEZZ PRAWBLUM CUWD UV BYN N OUWR REER VYEW MYRROR! 😎👀
Yes, Orange county can fix their homeless people. 1- Stop inviting more. 2- Deport the homeless you already have. 3- Vote out the politicians who created the policy causing problems in the 1st place. 3- Stop pretending you don't know this. That was easy. Next question.
Housing cost in SoCal is crazy, I think ppl need to fix that thing first.
First, can't be fixed, ameliorate yes, but never fixed, not without all those camps y'all claimed FEMA was building.
Overheard at a party last night in Newport Beach, California: 'Why can't the homeless around here be moved to Corona, or Riverside, San Bernardino, or somewhere else in the desert?' The discussion was about investment clubs buying SoCal residential properties for rentals.
Vote our Democrats that have dominated Sacramento politics since the state started going to seed.