Orange County has no plans to open temporary emergency winter shelters despite an increase in homelessness

For the first time, Orange County will not open additional winter shelter spaces for the unhoused community, instead relying on existing beds.

In previous years, the county operated two shelters during winter months at the National Guard armories in Fullerton and Santa Ana, but those efforts ended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, Anaheim agreed to operate temporary winter shelters, but that won’t happen this year.

The county is transitioning from a countywide singular site model to a city-based approach, Doug Becht, director of the Office of Care Coordination at the County of Orange, said.

“We know when inclement weather is coming, especially in the winter, the cold weather is coming so we don't wait for it to come,” Becht said. “We have our outreach teams out there engaging folks, trying to get them in before there is an immediate need.”

The county currently runs two emergency shelters, the Bridges at Kramer Place in Anaheim and the Yale Navigation Center in Santa Ana, which accounts for more than 600 beds. Additionally, Becht said, the county funds about a dozen other shelters in partnerships with cities and nonprofits across Orange County that total around 1,000 beds.

Homelessness went up 28% in Orange County compared to the last point in time count in 2022, according to data released in May. According to the count that happens every other year, 7,322 were experiencing homelessness with over half unsheltered.

“There's always more that we need and that we can do,” Becht said.

Emergency shelters in previous years

In January, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a contract with Anaheim for $150,000 to be used toward cots and other supplies to set up temporary mini shelters from February through mid-April — but not this year.

“Currently, they are exploring how they will serve folks this winter and have stated that they are not in need of the partnership at the moment with the county,” Becht said.

Mike Lyster, a spokesperson for the city of Anaheim, told LAist the partnership with the county was a “good experience,” but it “takes a lot of effort.” Anaheim, he added, has evaluated their options and will be able to serve the public through their existing winter shelter “with what we have available.”

The Anaheim temporary shelters came about after Becht sent a letter to all 34 Orange County cities in 2023 to gauge interest in hosting a winter shelter.

Funding for the program came from a variety of sources, Becht said, and even though the program is not happening this year, “we ensure that we utilize every dollar of resources, so there's never any money left on the table.”

In 2022, county officials put a call out to cities to run inclement weather shelters and got no takers before striking a deal with Fullerton to run a temporary shelter at a community center through 2023’s winter. Santa Ana had hosted a temporary shelter in previous years but in 2022, city officials there said others had to step up. South O.C. cities have long resisted hosting shelters except for the Friendship Shelter in Laguna Beach, which has operated since 1988.