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Third, we reject the call for a heavy-handed law enforcement approach to homelessness in the Civic <br /> Center. People living in the Civic Center need protection, not police harassment. They live outdoors, <br /> unprotected, because the county and its cities have failed to provide enough affordable housing or even <br /> emergency shelter to meet the need. Because they have nowhere else to live, they cannot comply with the city <br /> ordinances that prohibit sleeping and lying down in public. Enforcement of these ordinances violates their civil <br /> rights. <br /> Further, heavy-handed enforcement of municipal codes and nuisance ordinances leads to <br /> confrontational interactions with law enforcement that can needlessly threaten the health, safety, and even lives <br /> of those living in the Civic Center. <br /> On August 1, for example, Santa Ana police officers approached Mr. Swihart, a homeless individual who <br /> violated a nuisance ordinance by riding his bicycle in the Civic Center. Mr. Swihart struggled with officers, <br /> prompting one of them to fire multiple rounds at him. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and <br /> died on August 14. <br /> Nowhere in the attached resolution is this recent death, or the city's response to it, mentioned. <br /> Fourth, moving people from the Civic Center to the bus terminal, by threat of citation, may violate their <br /> rights. This bus terminal was designed to house buses. It is a concrete structure that lacks wrap-around walls, <br /> wind barriers, showers, or heating, and therefore fails to meet the basic requirements for adequate <br /> shelter. Moreover, people with mental and physical disabilities may not be able to tolerate the crowded and <br /> congregate conditions that will arise when hundreds of people are packed into the terminal. If the bus terminal <br /> is opened for use as a living space, it will need to be retrofitted for human habitation and made accessible for <br /> people with disabilities. Use of the terminal should be strictly voluntary. <br /> Fifth, we urge the Santa Ana City Council to support true solutions to homelessness. The county has a Ten- <br /> Year Plan to End Homelessness. The centerpiece of this plan is a "housing first" model which provides <br /> affordable and permanent supportive housing to people as an immediate response to their needs. This is the <br /> federally recommended and proven solution to homelessness. Yet although the county approved the plan in <br /> 2010, homelessness is on the rise. This is because the county has failed to fund the plan, instead relying on <br /> stagnating or disappearing federal and state funds that don't come close to meeting the need. The City of Santa <br /> Ana and all other cities in Orange County should encourage the county to create a housing trust fund—a <br /> dedicated source of funding for affordable and permanent supportive housing. They could also contribute to the <br /> housing trust fund, to support the creation of affordable and permanent supportive housing throughout the <br /> county. <br /> Thank you, <br /> Jennifer Rojas <br /> (714)-625-5100 <br /> rojas.jen.renee@gmail.com <br /> 2 <br />