At last night’s Anaheim City Council, Kristine Ridge, Assistant City Manager, gave the second performance report for Operation Home S.A.F.E., which provided an action plan to address the city’s growing homeless epidemic. Every performance metric is being met and exceeded to implement Operation Home S.A.F.E. and restore the health and public safety of those living in or near homeless encampments in Anaheim.
The council also voted unanimously to authorize up to $100,000 to pay for services, supplies and family reunification efforts.
Since its unanimous passage in September, Operation Home S.A.F.E. has put in place an action plan that is actively addressing health and safety impacts of homeless encampments in collaboration with the County of Orange and other Orange County cities to address this regional problem.
The program is focused daily on serving those living with homelessness, providing shelter and services to the individuals living in the encampments, restoring public safety along the riverbed, and returning bike paths and park spaces for use as a recreational areas for all Orange County residents.
To read the Staff Report, click here
Community Triage Day Scheduled for Dec. 19
A major component of Operation Home S.A.F.E.’s action plan was a Community Triage Day to provide comprehensive services to those living in homeless encampments along the Santa Ana River Trail and citywide. Last night, the City Council unanimously approved funding and services to host the first Community Triage Day on December 19th.
Angels Baseball graciously agreed to provide the southeast corner of their parking site for the program and the city is working with the County of Orange, neighboring cities, and more than 50 service providers to conduct this outreach triage program and provide those living with homelessness a broad array of services to help them move to secure shelters. In addition, transportation will be provided citywide for homeless individual throughout Anaheim to be connected to services.
Community Triage Day Partners
A number of partner agencies were named last evening as participants in the Community Triage Day event. I encourage you to learn more about these organizations to see if you can provide additional support for their efforts – some of them are highlighted below.
CityNet
Drug Free Anaheim
Love Anaheim
Mercy House
County of Orange
Veterans First OC
Monthly Performance Report
Click here to view the second Operation Home S.A.F.E. Monthly Performance Report.
Highlights from the city’s staff report include:
Highlights from the city’s staff report include:
- City Net, the city’s service provider successfully achieved 125 street exits from the Flood Control Channel and an additional 130 from other locations within Anaheim since the inception of Operation Home S.A.F.E.
- The Anaheim Police Department, with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department as lead agency, continues to assist in outreach and enforcement. As of November 16, 2017 there have been 1,745 contacts made, with over 100 successful referrals. On the enforcement side, there have been 299 arrests. None of the arrests have been related to conditions of homelessness.
- Hepatitis A vaccinations continue to be offered.
- Efforts advance for a temporary emergency shelter, in addition to opening the armories in Fullerton and Santa Ana.
- City of Anaheim completed a new web-based site of city’s SB2 zones to better inform potential service providers of areas that allow by-right development for up to 50-bed shelters. The information is co-located with the Operation Home S.A.F.E. details and can be found by clicking here.
Councilwoman Kris Murray
Outside of the parameters of Operation Home S.A.F.E., but noteworthy, is the interest from the business community to develop a long-term permanent solution that would provide a regional campus to address the unique and individual needs of the County’s homeless population.
By providing comprehensive and restorative services to the homeless, with concurrent enforcement of all health and public safety laws, together we can reclaim the riverbed and surrounding neighborhoods for all residents in Anaheim and Orange County
All metrics are being met, except clearing the River trail. An assisting an a warehouse in Stadium parking area and it does not look like anything is being accomplished. I guess over 1000 contacts and less than 10% acceptance of services is considered success. If I get a 10%, by my math I failed. Anyways best wishes
It was wonderful to see Mayor Tait truly acting as a leader, in the ribbon cutting of a new, sorely needed infastrcture project: a new road in> Guanajuato, MEXICO!
WTF, really, there is not enough that needs to be done around here that he has to go to Mexico, with “activist” Yesenia Rojas.
Please Mayor Tait, tell us NO public money was used on your junket with Yesina.