Homeless People in Orange County

In a region with a diversified culture, Orange County is situated south of Los Angeles. Many Southern Californians associate Orange County with high tech economic development, conservative politics, theme parks, master-planned neighborhoods, and considerable suburban prosperity (County 34). However, due to Orange County's dynamic nature and diversified population over the past ten years, life there is not as stagnant as it is perceived to be. The county's population expanded by 25% during the previous ten years, or 2.4 million people, according to a census taken in 2010. (County 47). Similar to other metropolitan areas, Orange County has been adversely affected by homelessness. Dispossessed advocates in the region indicate that there are around 12000-15000 people who are homeless every night (Heben 79). Perhaps, due to the lack of acknowledgment of homelessness as a primary issue affecting a huge number of individuals in the county, little interventions have been made to resuscitate the situation as far as emergency shelter and cheap, affordable housing is concerned. For instance, there are only 1000 beds for people in the street, which imply that the district lacks a coordinated effort to alleviate the situation (County 125). Rather, the county has facilities and programs operating in an ad hoc way, which render the services in a place vulnerable to the shifting nature of private, state and federal charitable sources of funds. Furthermore, facilities that provide services for the homeless people in the county are more concentrated in the northern areas that are considered more urbanized. However, there exists drop in mental state care clinics as well as food banks that are sporadically situated in the county(Tsemberis 149).

Lack of house in Orange County has been construed as both distinct and similar from homelessness in inner city areas. Comparable to research on inner city homeless people, samples drawn from the destitute population in Orange County designate that most individuals are primarily unmarried men, with a significant number of them being newly homeless (County 178). Further, homelessness in the orange county also reflects various demographic patterns from urban populations, with greater proportions being Hispanic and white while smaller dimensions comprise of African Americans. However, statistics indicate that African Americans are overrepresented in the number of dispossessed people as compared to the US Census that describes the overall data (Heben 60). Notably, a significant percentage of homeless populace has been in the county for a very long time, most of them living for over five years.

Reasons for Homelessness

Initially, there is a lack of affordable housing in Orange County. A significant number of individuals do not earn enough money to cater for most of their basic needs such as housing, food, and clothing, while others earn low incomes that are only able to sustain their lifestyles (County 231). A reliable indicator of the affordability of houses can be shown by an analysis of the data on the percentage of people paying rent of more than 30% of their total income on expenses related to housing. Those households that spend more than 30% of their total revenue to cater for accommodation are considered to be burdened by cost (County 198).Particularly, a greater percentage of families deemed to be loaded in specific income group postulate the lack of options regarding housing affordability.

More than 80% of families that earn less $ 10,000 annually pay more than 30% of their salaries on rent. What is more, the next category of $10, 000-$19,999, indicates an extra cost burden because almost 84% of the households pay above 30% of their salaries in meeting expenses on housing (County 214). From the 2010 demographic data, it is unarguably evident that a high percentage of those homes that are price troubled especially in lower income groups reflect a deficit in low-cost housing. Consequently, an increase in rent or a drop of revenue can cause fee burdened people to become homeless (Heben 236). It is noteworthy that there exist five million individuals in the United States of America who earn less than 50% of their housing expenses or pay more than half of their total income for housing. Specifically, at least 5,500 households in Orange County are at a higher risk of losing their houses, hence becoming homeless due to lack of money to pay for the rent (County 129).

Another related cause of homelessness in Orange County is insufficient income. Research done by HUD in 2006 indicates that the median household income for individuals in the county was $61, 700 (Tsemberis 227). Over 28% of African American households earned less than $15,000 in the year 2000 as put in comparison with 24% Hispanic households and 15% white families (Tsemberis 231). Besides, it is apparent that most people are unemployed and often, it may be a tractable cause of homelessness for some families and individuals. Moreover, it is impossible for people experiencing homelessness to be stable without decent employment.

Inadequate services also contribute to the high levels of homelessness in Orange County. Additionally, long-term homeless individuals have to deal with issues related to domestic violence, drug abuse, mental or physical illness, mental or physical disabilities as well as other social injustice or assault (Heben 219). People with chronic disabilities in most cases require support and service needs as compared with addiction, mental or physical disorders. Moreover, homeless individuals with impairments are needlessly forced into institutions to get services, rather than living in residential areas with reserve support and assistance. According to a report by the national coalition for the homeless, the growth in the number of homeless people in the orange county cannot be attributed to the release of mentally ill people from hospitals and other institutions despite the disproportionate number of individuals with mental malady among the chronically homeless population (County 332). A significant number of patients were released from institutions in the 1960s and yet there was no vast increase in the levels of homelessness until 1980s when housing options for the marginalized started to diminish rapidly. However, unplanned and premature discharge, as well as denial of services, which was brought about by managed care arrangements, has over time contributed to the presence of chronically ill people within the population of homelessness (Tsemberis 87).

Besides homeless persons are in most cases not able to access treatment and services due to the nature of living rough. What is more, when individuals are released from hospitals or other institutions, they find it difficult to obtain the necessary case management and follow up care since they lack a permanent place of residence where care givers can go and treat them (Heben 276). Consequently, this void aggravates the chances of noncompliance among the homeless persons. In other instances, lack of access to treatment and other services is brought about by the lack of proper public transportation. Therefore, the establishment of one stop shop or supermarkets where the treatment and services are provided would alleviate the situation. Additionally, lack of day resources is also construed as a barrier to getting education alternatives, treatment, services as well as job opportunities (Tsemberis 127). Further, with no access to storage facilities, telephone and laundry services, it is quite difficult for chronically homeless individuals to get employment and become independent .Accordingly, this is a challenge that particularly faces constantly destitute people who stay at the shelter but work in night shifts, which makes it elusive for them to find a place to sleep during the day (Tsemberis 63).

Inadequate discharge planning has also played a significant role in causing homelessness in the region. When individuals are discharged from public systems of care or public institutions without a clear plan, they are prone to becoming homeless. Released people include those discharged from hospitals, correctional facilities, and children aging out of foster care as well as institutions of mental health (Heben 179). The 2006 continuum of care postulated that requirements for liberation plans of individuals in drug abuse and alcohol centers plus psychiatric hospitals stipulated that each area program and the facility must come up with a process that ensures continued care and coordination of patients (Heben 50). Specifically, this was around community care and discharge planning. Rehabilitation facilities are required to collaborate on the establishment of a clear discharge plan for anyone that leaves to the community. Moreover, all persons removed from these institutions must have scheduled appointments at the community services before being released (Tsemberis 59).

A report from studies done by the public Institute on housing and re-entry indicate the role of housing on reentry. The study further reports that four out of 104 single men surveyed were recently released from a prison facility with 87 men remaining unreported, which suggests that a significant number of people could have been discharged from a correctional facility (County 58). Further findings postulate that many of the prisoners believe that for a successful reentry, a stable place to live is of crucial significance. In addition, many of the returning prisoners stay with intimate partners or members of their families after being released. Other former convicts return home to temporary household arrangements while housing options for those inmates who do not stay with friends or members are tremendously limited (Heben 167). As such, researchers and practitioners agree that there exist very few programs on housing that are targeting returning prisoners with chronic mental illnesses.

Efforts to End Homelessness in Orange County

As indicated in previous section, the causes for homelessness are similar across Orange County, and the state should elevate the efforts for ending street live as a top priority. For instance, the state and local governments should take full responsibility for the issue and become a voice and leader of change through numerous engagements in the conversation about homelessness as well as share with the community (County 209). Additionally, commitment on investing in scaling resources that are sufficient to end homelessness and educating the business community on the advantages of establishing more affordable houses and the returns that will be accrued in solutions to end the problem should be encouraged. The district should also reach out partners and philanthropists to increase investments in tested solutions and public awareness (Heben 178).

A critical shortage of affordable rental houses for very low-income earners can be solved by the state through incentivizing cheap homes for households that earn lowly. Accordingly, this could include homes that are dedicated for exceedingly small income earning families. The state should also embrace best practices that have been used successfully in other states. Moreover, it should require developers to bring down barriers on admissions and admit individuals and families who experience homelessness regardless of the credit history, nonviolent, legal records as well as income resources (Heben 179). Further, the state should consider how to use foreclosed properties and land banks, including cheap rental housing as part of the incentives to develop the economy. Integrating housing for those households with meager incomes into the existent private market can also alleviate the problem (Tsemberis 98).

Coordinated entry, assessment as intake can also resolve chronic homelessness. It is important to note that most communities do not have the necessary resources required to meet the insatiable needs of homeless individuals. What is more, this conflate with the absence of a well planned entry procedure leading to tremendous hardships for individuals with homelessness as they face a long time of waiting to receive help (County 134). Coordinated entry programs help communities to put prioritized assistance that is based on severity and vulnerability of service wanted to ensure that individuals who need aid can get it in a timely mode (Tsemberis 87). Additionally, synchronized access schemes provide information concerning gaps and service needs to enable societies to design their relieve and individuality needed resources.

Targeted homelessness anticipation is another apt way of solving the situation of living in street within Orange County if the program is well implemented. The services may include housing relocation, legal representation aimed at preventing eviction, landlord mediation as well as linkage to other resources in the community (Heben 52). Further, financial assistance may take care of utility or rent arrearages, security deposits, car transportation or repairs, application fees and other one-time help that may stabilize the housing and fiscal situation of families. To expound on this, targeting services and monetary aids to those individuals who match the profile of other people that have entered a shelter will bring a significant impact (County 79). However, if that data is unavailable, homelessness prevention should be aimed at individuals with the most intense and urgent housing barriers and crises. Besides, street outreach to unsheltered people can solve homelessness. Meeting people emotionally, philosophically and geographically is the essence of this program to dispossessed individuals. Instead of expecting persons to reach out for services at their own will, outreach workers facilitate service providence where the people are located (Tsemberis 234). These outreach programs best fit in Orange County where there is a significantly huge number of people residing outdoors with little or no access to emergency shelter.

Emergency shelters also play a crucial role in a crisis reaction for all populations. The facilities provide transitional or temporary shelter for not more than 90 days, which serves all people or sub communities such as the families of children, youth, veterans or single adults. Furthermore, the best emergency shelters are open throughout the year with few necessities beyond being homeless and provide services, which are focused on permanent housing (Heben 78). Consequently, the adults, youth and families have a safe place to live, and their experience as homeless people is quite brief.

There exist population specific interventions that are aimed at reducing the number of families in the street. For instance, a rapid re-housing places a precedence on moving persons or families that experience homelessness into permanent housing within a concise time, ideally within 30 days of a person entering a homeless program (Tsemberis 45). Moreover, time limited services may include case management, housing identification as well as rent and move in aid. Permanent supportive housing is another prudent population specific intervention that can alleviate the homelessness situation. It is an affordable, safe and decent community-based housing, which gives tenants with tenancy rights and links to flexible and voluntary supports together with services for disabled people experiencing homelessness (Tsemberis 67).

Orange County can also benefit from targeted transitional housing, which offers residential services and living for up to two years that is set aside for people with specific or severe needs that choose the program over other services. The plan would consequently enable homeless individuals to get quick reconnection to permanent housing (Heben 134). However, the strategies that serve these persons should have few barriers to the entrance of the programs such as necessities of sobriety and protraction. On the face of it, transitional housing ought to be a quite little dimension of the community’s overall inventory of program, whose purpose is to resuscitate homelessness. Lastly, an enlargement of long-run housing alternatives that are in coherence with the developmental needs of the youth should be initiated. Particularly, this is because many of the youth can be connected to families and adults and need safe options in the case management as well as permanent housing (County 67). Moreover, family reunification is important because young people simply need a reconnection to their families and given counseling and case management to settle the family battle that resulted to homelessness.

Conclusion

In conclusion, solving the issue of homelessness is not easy, and the way forward is not a cognitive operation that can happen overnight, which means that Orange County should rethink their approaches to find the solutions. Moreover, region can litigate changes in policy and turn Orange County into an example to be emulated. Additionally, state should focus on housing first legistlation that will result in the creation of cheap housing, and the production of permanent houses. Furthermore, this will increase the capacity of local government to respond to homelessness as well as the cohesion of private, philantropic and public groups to join hands towards a common goal of reducing lack of households. Besides, the rehabilitation institutions and mental health facilities should have a strategy that ensures discharged individuals have a better place to stay rather than going back to the street. Also, private sectors should be encouraged to invest in housing where the governement can provode mortage so that to lessen the rent burden.

Works Cited

County, Orange. Orange County Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness. California: County of Orange, California, 2012. Print.

Heben, Andrew. Tent City Urbanism: From Self-Organized Camps to Tiny House Villages. Eugene: Village Collaborative, 2014. Print.

Tsemberis, Sam. Housing First: The Pathways Model to End Homelessness for People with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. ‎Center City, Minnesota: Hazelden Publishing, 2015. Print.