Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva presses for housing opportunities in North Orange County with Fullerton Armory Re-Opening

ORANGE COUNTY — Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva (D – Orange County) announced that the Fullerton and Santa Ana Armories will re-open for the Winter Shelter Program (WSP) in agreement with the Army National Guard. The emergency homeless shelters will open earlier, beginning October 15, 2019 and remain open through April 15, 2020.  The Armories will provide much needed shelter to homeless individuals during the winter season.

Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva (D - Orange County) continues to combat the homelessness epidemic in Orange County.  The Orange County legislator’s priority remains the issue of housing and homelessness, Quirk-Silva sits as the Chair of the Orange County Chronic Homelessness Sub-Committee.  Along with her committee, she continues to work with local

and county government and nonprofit leaders on innovative ways to resolve the housing and homelessness crisis plaguing Orange County.

“There is not a single solution to resolving the housing crisis in California.  But to make our solutions a reality it requires resources and coordination between all parties,” said Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva. “We must consider every approach in a comprehensive and compassionate manner, so we can improve the quality of life for Californians, and it starts with working alongside our local leaders.”

 

Additionally, the City of Buena Park recently broke ground on a new Navigation Center. This project is a collaborative effort by the cities in North Orange County Service Planning Area to assist transitioning homeless individuals.

“Homelessness knows no boundaries.  The City of Buena Park is proud to work with the State to accomplish our goals in North Orange County.  Cities working together to address collective issues is good government,” said James Vanderpool, Buena Park Assistant City Manager. “We are fortunate to receive funding and support from our State Legislators, City Council Members, and other local officials. By having state and local officials working together, we can accomplish so much.”

The announcement of the Fullerton Armory Winter Shelter Program comes as another accomplishment in the broad efforts spearheaded by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva.  Her bills have emphasized the team driven effort in finding resolutions for the housing and homelessness epidemic not only in North Orange County, but statewide.

• Assembly Bill 816 State Flexible Housing Program provides funds to cities; counties; and continuums of care, both private and public, to address the varied needs for California’s most vulnerable residents.  Pending the Governor’s signature, along with other bills focused on combatting homelessness and housing will receive $650,000,000 to support regional coordination to expand or develop local capacity to address the homeless challenges in California. Many of the key components of AB 816 were utilized in creating the standard for fund disbursement to cities, counties, and continuums of care when they apply for these funds. 
• Assembly Bill 1295 Fairview Developmental Center will assist up to 200 individuals with severe mental illness in need of housing and supportive services by establishing a temporary mental health program at the Fairview Developmental Center. Furthermore, it has been earmarked to receive further funding from the California 2019/2020 State Budget.
• Assembly Bill 139 Emergency and Transitional Housing updates California Housing Element law to assess homeless shelters based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count; the number of shelter beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis; the number of beds that go unused on an average monthly basis; and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing. This bill will be heard in Senate Appropriations Committee on August 12^th.

Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva continues to draft and work on legislation that has been improves the efforts of Orange County in responding to the housing and homelessness crisis.

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Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva represents the 65th Assembly District, which includes the Orange County communities of West Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, La Palma, and Stanton.