by Gina R. Cunningham
5,718. That is the number of people experiencing homelessness in Orange County every night, per the most recent Point in Time Count. Orange County Health Care Agency, Everyone Counts: 2022 Point in Time Summary (May 2022), www.ochealthinfo.com/sites/hca/files/2022-05/2022%20PIT%20Data%20Infographic%20-%205.10.2022%20Final.pdf. Over the past decade, the rate of people experiencing homelessness in Orange County, the state of California, and across the nation has risen dramatically. When we take a closer look at homelessness since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the data show that the number of individuals living chronically on the streets has increased by nearly 16%. Id.
Aside from the obvious development cost of constructing housing, there are other major costs associated with the crisis of homelessness. Here in Orange County, more than $299 million was spent to address homelessness by the county, local municipalities, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, and local NGOs during a one-year timespan. David A. Snow and Rachel E. Goldberg, Homelessness in Orange County: The Costs to Our Community, University of Cal. Irvine, Orange County United Way, and Jamboree Study (June 2017), https://www.unitedwayoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/united-way-cost-study-homelessness-2017-report.pdf. When a homeless person is housed and given access to wrap-around services, such as healthcare and counseling, that cost for the county, local municipalities, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, and local NGOs is reduced by more than half. Simply put, it costs fewer tax dollars to get a person off the streets and into stable housing than having them stay on the streets in our community.
So why, then, isn’t there more housing available for people experiencing homelessness? That’s the million-dollar question with a more-than-million-dollar answer. In order to develop housing and/or shelter for people experiencing homelessness, laws and ordinances—among other legal stipulations—must be followed. And it’s not only laws and ordinances enacted by the state, but also those put in place by the county and the specific city where the housing/shelter will be built.
Every local government is required by the State of California to create a general plan. General plans act as the local government’s blueprint for how the city and/or county will grow and develop. The plan includes eight elements: land use, transportation, conservation, noise, open space, safety, environmental justice, and housing. Key to the development of shelters and housing communities for people experiencing homelessness are the land use and housing elements.
Since 1969, the state of California has required that all cities and counties adequately meet the housing needs of everyone in their jurisdiction by adopting housing plans, known as the housing element, that are required to be updated every eight years. Each city must accommodate a specific number of units in its housing element. Cities are allocated a specific number of units based primarily on two key data points: the total number of units required in their county and the number of current and projected residents.
Drilling down a bit further, California Government Code sections 65583 and 65583.2 require the housing element to provide for a variety of housing types including supportive housing, emergency shelters, and bridge (transitional) housing. The housing element is required to also identify a zone or multiple zones where emergency shelters are permitted. Finally, the housing element must show that bridge housing and supportive housing are subject to the restrictions that apply to other residences of the same type in that same zone.
As part of the housing element, the state requires that a population analysis and employment trends be completed, along with documentation of population and employment projections and a quantification of the locality’s existing and projected housing needs for all income levels, including extremely low-income households. The existing and projected needs must include the locality’s share of the regional housing need in accordance with California Code section 65584—a part of the Housing Elements Law.
What does this mean for housing homeless people and families? When looking at the development of a shelter on a local level there are the county-wide and city-wide housing elements to meet. As it relates to housing for homeless and poor people, the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) plays a critical role. RHNA is the state-mandated process to identify the total number of housing units needed in a local jurisdiction by affordability level. In this case, affordability level is described as a percentage of median income.
Here in Orange County, very-low income is described as 50% of local area median income (AMI) and below. Low income is described as 50%-80% of AMI. As of 2022, the median housing income is $94,441. See Orange County Business Council, First 5 Orange County, Orange County United Way, CalOptima Health, and the Orange County Community Foundation, 2022-2023 Orange County Community Indicators report, available at https://ocbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/FINAL_DIGITAL_CommunityIndicators22-Reduced.pdf.
The most recent housing element determined that Orange County needs to develop 3,139 very-low-income units and 1,866 low-income units. When developed, many of these units will become home to our working poor and homeless neighbors. HomeAid Orange County—together with many local municipalities and other nonprofits—is committed to ensuring that these housing needs are met for the most vulnerable in our community.
Later this year, HomeAid will break ground on FX Residences: a long-term, affordable housing community for chronically homeless people who live with a mental or physical disability. This will add seventeen units for our neighbors who qualify as very-low income. In addition, HomeAid will also begin renovation of La Veta Village: an affordable housing community comprised of three historic homes with three added Accessory Dwelling Units, located on La Veta Avenue in Old Towne Orange. Upon completion, La Veta Village will be a multi-generational community that both seniors and families will call their home, adding several more units. Both FX Residences and La Veta Village will include the critically important wrap-around services that help to end a person’s experience of homelessness. These include case management, counseling, housing navigation, addiction support, and more.
Housing for unhoused people is a complex, multifaceted reality—one that must follow many legal parameters and construction best practices, among other things. But, now more than ever before, it’s desperately needed. It’s the first step towards a future where the crisis of homelessness is resolved, and the data show us that. As Orange County continues to evolve and our population continues to grow, housing—for all—could not be more critical.
Gina R. Cunningham is the Executive Director of HomeAid Orange County, the leading nonprofit developer of shelters, bridge, and affordable housing in Orange County. She can be reached at gina@homeaidoc.org.