The homeless problem in Orange County does not have an easy solution. We went to the Santa Ana Civic Center last year and saw the camps and hoards of people living down there. How do we get those people off the streets? How do you get people who don't want to go to shelters live there?
There's mental illness, drug use, unemployment, poor health, and all kinds of other issues that contribute to homelessness.
This week OC Supervisor Shawn Nelson, from the 4th district, proposed building temporary housing in Huntington Beach, which is in the 2nd district.
Leaders in Huntington Beach were not happy with his proposal,calling it "absolutely wrong." Nelson told the L.A. Times:
“The homeless situation in our county is a crisis for which no single solution exists to adequately remedy the matter. As such, the county must evaluate and experiment with various solutions to offer assistance to those in need of shelter and support.”
Supervisor Nelson joined us this afternoon to explain his idea further: