Out of Sight but Not Out of Trouble : Many of the Homeless Who Left Santa Ana’s Civic Center Still Need Assistance

The city of Santa Ana has finally gotten what it wanted. Gone from the Civic Center are the hundreds of homeless campers whose makeshift tents cluttered the area and frightened government employees.

But that’s not the end of the tale. Harry Simon, an attorney with Legal Aid Society of Orange County, had it right when he told a Times reporter that the homeless problem is “like a tube of toothpaste.” Squeeze it in one place and it moves to another.

Where did the homeless go? Most became more unobtrusive, carrying fewer belongings around or sleeping at other locations in Santa Ana or the area. Others actually got off the streets, mostly with the help of a loosely organized group called Operation Fresh Start. With about $15,000 in private donations and a strong determination to help, the group performed miracles in the days and weeks when the homeless campers were moved out of the Civic Center. Some people were provided with bus tickets out of the area. Others were relocated temporarily to shelters or other housing. For a few, it was just enough of a break to help them start over.

But for others, more serious intervention is needed. Drug and alcohol treatment is the most obvious shortcoming. And, of course, there is a crying need for more shelter space.

Volunteers in Operation Fresh Start are regrouping to see what else can be done. Some want to continue feeding programs for the homeless. Others want to develop mentoring programs to help homeless people find jobs, or lobby cities to adopt ordinances that would allow residents to donate an extra dollar on their municipal utility bills to be used for the homeless. All of these avenues should be pursued.

But homelessness in the area needs everyone’s attention. Just because Santa Ana’s homeless campers are “out of sight” doesn’t mean that Orange County has the luxury of putting its homeless problems “out of mind.”