Plenty of Laws, Not Enough Beds : Each City Must Do Its Part to Shelter the Homeless

Given the 1995 state Supreme Court ruling upholding Santa Ana’s law against camping on public property, last month’s conviction of a homeless Vietnam War veteran for violating that law was unsurprising. But in cities across Orange County, the problem remains: too few beds for too many homeless.

Jim Eichorn, 49, contended he had exhausted all other options when Santa Ana police cited him three years ago for lying in his sleeping bag on the grounds of the Civic Center. The prosecutor contended that the city should not be responsible for providing shelter for every resident. City officials have said some of the homeless spend money on drugs or prostitutes that they could otherwise spend on a room.

That is probably true. But it would not seem to apply to the majority of Orange County’s estimated 10,000 to 15,000 homeless; it certainly does not apply to children. The number of temporary beds for homeless people is usually estimated at 1,000. That is the problem: far too few beds for those who need them.

Santa Ana deserves credit for its attempts to lessen the problem. The city recently approved a $900,000 loan that will let a YWCA add 48 studio apartments for low-income women to its building on North Broadway.

But Santa Ana officials understandably have been concerned that increasing the number of beds for the homeless can make the city a magnet for those without shelter.

City officials rightly said homelessness is a regional problem, demanding a regional solution. What is needed is a better response to the problem from all the cities in Orange County. They must be as willing to help the homeless as they have been to imitate Santa Ana’s ban on camping on public property.

Fortunately, Orange County’s judges have been properly lenient in sentencing those who pleaded guilty to violating anti-camping ordinances. The usual penalty is assignment to a cleanup crew. Eichorn was the first homeless defendant cited in 1993 to insist on a trial. Municipal Court Judge James M. Brooks said he did not believe Eichorn was a criminal and sentenced him to 40 hours of community service. These are tough economic times for all cities. But innovative programs with private developers and home builders have let some municipalities assist in putting up new low-cost housing. Others need to follow suit.