[ad_1]
Laguna Beach’s homeless shelter is one of the only facilities in South Orange County where unhoused people can find free meals, a shower and a warm bed 365 days a year.
But now city officials are taking a closer look at the shelter — named the Alternative Sleeping Location (ASL) — to see what services, if any, could be cut in the future to save money and reduce the facility’s regional draw.
The shelter, located at 20652 Laguna Canyon Road, was created in 2009 and features 35 beds. It’s run by Friendship Shelter, a nonprofit homeless services agency based in South OC.
The city’s contract with Friendship Shelter is set to expire at the end of this fiscal year on June 30. The council effectively bought itself more time to figure out what to do next by extending that contract up to another six months at the city manager’s discretion.
In the meantime, city leaders are expected to spend the next 60 days researching and reviewing operations at the shelter in an attempt to find cost-saving measures and see what services may not be needed in the future.
City Manager Dave Kiff said closing the facility entirely isn’t the right choice and staff will not be recommending that option.
However, he did express serious financial concerns as the city heads into budget study sessions for the next fiscal year.
“I don’t think our shelter’s resources need to be the region’s resources,” Kiff said at the March 25 meeting.
“I worry that we genuinely can’t afford to be anything but Laguna-focused in the long term. We’re not flush with cash. I’m genuinely concerned.”
Kiff recommended cutting the shelter’s daytime drop-in program, which offers shower, laundry and internet services for homeless people daily from 12 to 3 p.m.
The daytime program is separate from the shelter’s overnight service, which enrolls people for 30-day periods to give them somewhere to sleep while they look for permanent housing with a case manager.
Staff said closing the daytime program could save the city approximately $200,000 per year while also potentially reducing the program’s regional draw as other cities up anti-camping enforcement.
Running the shelter costs the city about $500,000 annually. Staff estimated that cost is likely to increase in the future.
Previously, Orange County cities were required to provide a certain number of shelter beds before clearing encampments or kicking homeless people out of town.
But a Supreme Court ruling from last summer removed that restriction — allowing cities to enforce anti-camping laws without providing shelter space.
[Read: Is Orange County About To Enforce Anti-Camping Laws Again?]
After that ruling, a host of cities across the county — including in South OC — updated their local ordinances to give local law enforcement more power to enforce anti-camping laws.
Officials in Aliso Viejo and San Clemente were quick to up enforcement. In Irvine, the council beefed up the city’s anti-camping law after backing out of creating its own homeless shelter a couple weeks prior.
As their neighboring cities up enforcement, Laguna Beach officials worry more homeless people will head to their town after getting kicked out of wherever they are now — since the city shelter’s daytime drop-in program accepts all.
Laguna Beach Police Chief Jeff Calvert said since the Supreme Court ruling last summer, proactive and reactive calls to the shelter have increased by 54%.
“Since October 2024, our park rangers have documented over 50 new homeless individuals entering our community,” Calvert said at the meeting.
“Through interviews, we learned that many of these individuals were directed to our ASL by neighboring cities, rehabilitation centers, social service agencies … Word of our ASL services are clearly spreading.”
Mayor Alex Rounaghi and Councilmember Sue Kempf are slated to form an ad hoc committee as part of the 60-day homeless shelter study session.
The city is expected to review the number of beds needed at the shelter in addition to considering a set length of stay limit. Councilmembers also discussed potentially creating a local preference for services.
The city is also expected to issue a request for proposals to create a new contract with an operator.
Staff will return to the council with a recommendation during the upcoming budget discussions in June.
During the meeting, representatives from Friendship Shelter emphasized the importance of their work as a housing-focused facility. Shelter staff have worked to house about 300 homeless people through their program since 2019.
Councilmember Bob Whalen said he supports continuing the shelter in its current form because of the organization’s focus on finding permanent housing for the homeless.
“This program has been a success,” Whalen said. “Homeless people have to find housing. It’s as simple as that.”
Councilmember Hallie Jones said it’s the city’s responsibility to figure out how to keep providing these resources.
“We can do that,” she said. “We are smart people, and I think we can figure it out.”
What About a Regional Homeless Shelter in South OC?
The Alternative Sleeping Location remains one of the only emergency shelters in Orange County owned and funded by a city and one of the only shelters in South OC.
County and city officials have spent years discussing creating a regional homeless shelter in the south end of Orange County — but those efforts have repeatedly fallen flat.
Laguna Beach officials are especially interested in this idea to reduce strain on their facility and ensure the ASL is serving the city’s needs — not the entire region’s needs.
“None of our surrounding cities, nobody else is carrying any water on this in South County,” Whalen said. “They haven’t for years, for decades. It’s been all us.”
Mayor Rounaghi said it’s time to get all South County mayors and city managers in a room to finally discuss how to work together to solve this issue and create a true, regional shelter.
“Regional problems require regional solutions,” he said.
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
Related
[ad_2]
Source link
