5 Cities May Unite to Seek Funds for Homeless

Representatives from five Orange County cities may band together to seek a larger portion of the federal housing money now available for projects to help the homeless.

City officials from Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and Laguna Beach are considering a joint application for a federal grant for a homeless program that would provide temporary housing and employment assistance for many of the county’s estimated 8,000 homeless people.

“As individual cities, we cannot accommodate the needs of the homeless,” Newport Beach Councilwoman Evelyn R. Hart said. “But as a group, we have a chance of doing something worthwhile.”

Hart, who is considering a bid for the Republican nomination in the 40th Congressional District, is a member of the Orange County Task Force on the Homeless. She also represents Newport Beach on the Inter City Liaison Committee, which is considering the joint proposal.

According to Hart, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has $65 million available for programs intended to help the homeless. The department has awarded individual grants of $300,000 to $500,000 to projects throughout the United States. A grant for a combined regional proposal could be much higher, she said, because she believes federal policies favor cooperative, regional efforts.

“I envision the effort to be a partnership between government and nonprofit organizations,” Hart said. She would like to see the government set up the project and a private, nonprofit organization to operate it.

Hart said she opposes adding more shelters because she would rather help the homeless become less dependent on the government. She said she would like to provide more temporary housing, job training and employment assistance, similar to the elements of a program in Costa Mesa.

Costa Mesa has one privately operated shelter and a program called Share Our Selves. The program, operated by volunteers, is financed through federal grants, city funding and private donations, SOS director Jean Forbath said.

SOS provides food, clothing, medical care and temporary housing for many of the county’s homeless and nearly homeless population, which Forbath estimates to be about 8,000 to 10,000 people.

About 4,500 people are served by the center each month, she said. About half are children.