Mayor Vicente Sarmiento sent a letter to the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 7 expressing his “strong opposition to the County of Orange’s decision to place the Cold Weather Shelter in the City of Santa Ana for the upcoming 2022-2023 winter season.”
The letter states, in part: “The City of Santa Ana continues to take pride in providing quality services for individuals experiencing homelessness. The City’s new 200 bed Homeless Navigation Center is operational, our use of City Net for direct street outreach has been very successful and the City remains on the forefront of permanent supportive housing, developing hundreds of units. As I am sure you are aware, Santa Ana hosts the year-round low barrier Yale County shelter, where according to court settlement, the City has an additional 125 beds for Santa Ana residents experiencing homelessness. Together, the cities of Anaheim and Santa Ana account for 1,071 of the County total 2,661 shelter beds. Santa Ana has hosted the Cold Weather shelter for several decades, so it would be appropriate and fair for the County to utilize another host City for the Cold Weather Program.”
Click the image below to read the full letter.
