ORANGE COUNTY VOICES : Local Governments Can Help the Homeless : Tax credits, set-asides for housing will help. Individual, group assistance is also needed.

It was drizzling when I drove into Santiago Park on that early Sunday morning. I had collected some food for the homeless and was looking for some of them who stay in the park. That morning the park was empty, but as I was leaving I noticed two people sitting on a picnic bench holding hands.

I introduced myself and asked them if they needed some food. As we started to talk, I realized that they were homeless. Bill was 68, his wife was 57. He told me he was retired and that they had used their savings to pay medical bills. His $594 a month Social Security check was not enough to pay the rent, utilities and food, but it was all they had to live on since his wife couldn’t work because of health problems. They had no children and did not want to go to the YMCA or YWCA because they would be separated; so they were forced to move out of their apartment, which they had rented for 16 years.

I left them two small bags of food, one sweater and a blanket. As I drove away I thought it was not much of a gift for their 38th wedding anniversary. That was eight years ago, and I remember it as though it was yesterday.

That is how I got started in helping the homeless. Over the years, I have met all kinds of homeless; those who are looking for work and want to turn their life around and those who just try to rob people and work the system to see what they can get out of it.

The estimated 275 homeless who live in the Santa Ana Civic Center area are a small, but very visible part of the county’s estimated 10,000 homeless. Most of them have a chemical dependency or mental problem and need long-term care. Those who continually use and sell illegal drugs should be put in jail. But local governments must provide the long-term funding to care for those with alcoholic and mental problems who cannot help themselves.

Nobody likes to sleep on the street, and it is sad that a no-camping law had to be enacted. But the reality is that the homeless have no place to go. Their only option is the street. However, I firmly believe that unless a street person is willing to solve the problem that made him or her homeless, our efforts will be in vain--no matter what we do.

One of today’s biggest scams is the homeless person on a street corner with a sign: “Homeless, will work for food.” Most of those I talked to don’t want work, they want to feed their dependency problem.

And I know the frustration and fear of women who, while on their way to their minimum-wage jobs, are bothered by panhandlers. I also know the cry of the homeless mother who has been thrown out of her own home because her husband of 25 years has brought his “girlfriend” home. I see single moms with children coming to us for help after their boyfriends abandon them.

Shelter for the Homeless operates 17 houses in Orange County to care for the homeless who want to turn their lives around and get a fresh start. It is not easy to keep these houses open when 50% of our budget ($400,000) must come from private sources.

What should be done to help the homeless who want to turn their life around and need a decent place to live? Here are some suggestions:

* First, the federal government should provide large tax credits to develop low-cost housing. We need rents in the $300-a-month range.

* Local governments should take a more active roll in passing or relaxing laws that benefit local nonprofit organizations; they cannot provide the services that the nonprofits do in a cost-effective manner. But they can:

* Provide more of their Community Development Block Grant monies to organizations that help the homeless. Some cities in Orange County budget no money to relieve the homeless problem.

* Use all their 20% redevelopment set aside funds for low-income housing, which is the law. At present, government agencies in California have about $400 million that some cities refuse to use on low-income housing.

* Wave conditional-use permits on emergency shelters.

Churches, social organizations and residents must also take a more active role in helping local nonprofit organizations. They should visit the organization and some of the people it helps to see how they can become involved.

The homeless who come to us have great needs. One of their greatest needs is having the community share its love, time and money. Doing that will make for a better Orange County for us all.