Mentally Ill O.C. Homeless to Get 12-Bed Shelter

In the face of strong neighborhood opposition, the Board of Supervisors gave the go-ahead Tuesday for the first full-service shelter in Orange County devoted exclusively to the needs of the mentally ill homeless.

While overturning an earlier ruling by the Orange County Planning Commission, the supervisors tacked on more than a dozen rigid restrictions as conditions of approval for the 12-bed care home that will be in an unincorporated area of El Modena, near Orange.

Still, mental health experts hailed the 3-0 vote as a “groundbreaking” decision that sends a message to the community that society must make room for the mentally ill homeless. Furthermore, board approval enables Episcopal Service Alliance officials to keep $356,000 in state money, which they would have been forced to return had the project fallen through.

“This is really a benchmark decision where the supervisors stood up and said, ‘This is an important issue,’ ” said Eldon C. Baber, executive director for the Alliance of the Mentally Ill of Orange County. “Hopefully, other cities in Orange County will take note of the fact that these services are needed.”

Local residents voiced strong opposition to the decision. “This is a hoax,” said Robert O’Neal, who lives on Drew Way, where the shelter will be. “It’s the same old thing. All of the people in the community were against it and they voted for it anyway.”

Supervisors Thomas F. Riley, Don R. Roth and Roger R. Stanton voted in support of the shelter. Gaddi H. Vasquez and Harriett M. Wieder were out of town and missed the vote.

During the 1 1/2-hour public hearing, dozens of homeless men slept on sidewalks in the shadows of the government buildings along Civic Center Drive.

According to mental health experts, they are among some 8,000 homeless people who call Orange County’s streets home. Although estimates vary, some mental health officials believe that as many as 40% of homeless people suffer from manic depression and schizophrenia, among other illnesses.

The home will provide residence for 12 homeless people who have experience a variety of mental disabilities. Many would be on some form of medication. The home, which officials hope to open in six months, would provide counseling, social activities and outings for its residents with the goal to allow them to make a transition into either a job or some independent housing situation. It has yet to be decided whether the home will be coeducational.

The Episcopal Alliance currently operates Martha House, a 10-bed shelter for homeless women in Orange, and Anchor House, another shelter for families in San Clemente. These are not specialized to deal with the mentally disabled.

Frustration over the government’s failure to deal with the rapidly increasing numbers of homeless people in the county was underscored in a May 7 letter to the supervisors from members of the Orange County Grand Jury.

”. . . We believe that the situation has become intolerable,” the letter said, urging officials to declare a formal state of emergency to better combat the crisis. “. . . An emergency exists, and the grand jury is concerned that the urgency of the situation is lost on many community leaders, including the board.”

However, the recent debate over the Episcopal Service Alliance shelter on Drew Way highlights the difficulties that social service agencies often face when they attempt to site shelters in residential neighborhoods.

In the past, the nonprofit group has won rave reviews from civic and community leaders for its programs to aid the homeless. However, the Drew Way proposal ran into fierce opposition from neighborhood residents, largely because of the reputation of a homeless shelter that already exists at the site, but which will close.

For years, neighbors of the Jerry McGee Home have complained that the facility blights the area. They tell of residents sleeping in back-yard toolsheds, marching like robots for hours at a time on the playground of a nearby Catholic school and accosting bereaved relatives on their way to memorial services at a neighboring funeral home. The McGee Home has fewer than six residents and thus requires no county permit.

Although the Episcopal Service Alliance plans to use the $350,000 state Housing and Community Development Grant to take over the two-story home and open a new shelter, many residents say they have had enough.

“We already have four halfway houses in the area and people roaming the streets,” said Anastasia Quintana, 75, one neighborhood resident. “People already live with their doors locked. . . . This is why our community is so opposed to this new facility.”

In an attempt to address community concerns, Supervisor Roth drafted a series of restrictions on the shelter to ease neighbors’ fears and uncertainties.

Roth, whose 4th District includes El Modena, called the restrictions “the toughest that have ever been required on this type of project.”

Among other things, no one with a “suspected history of violence, sexual misconduct or child endangerment” shall be housed at the Drew Way location; the Episcopal Service Alliance must immediately remove any resident who causes property damage or “in any way disrupts or overtly threatens the well-being of the neighborhood;” residents are prohibited from congregating anywhere on Drew Way; the home is required to maintain two full-time staffers, a part-time night supervisor and sufficient volunteers to provide for 24-hour supervision, seven days a week; the Episcopal Service Alliance is also required to pay for any property damage caused by staff or its clients.

However, the Roth proposals apparently held little sway with neighborhood residents who turned out Tuesday to protest the home.

“They are going to pay for the broken windows, but who is going to pay for the broken child that might be molested by one of these people?” said Robert O’Neal, 39, a resident of Drew Way.

Dennis White, executive director of the Episcopal Service Alliance, said gaining acceptance for the project among neighbors will be a major challenge.

“I can understand their concerns based upon their past experiences,” White said. “What we have to do is prove to people in this community that the people who will be living in this facility are just like you and me.”