City officials described recent expansions to the Costa Mesa shelter and a pipeline of Homekey-funded housing conversions they said are designed to move people from emergency shelter into permanent units with on-site services.

"We have a total of 30 behavioral health beds," Neighborhood Improvement Manager Nate Robbins said, crediting a $4,200,000 Behavioral Health Bridge Housing Program grant and additional state support through Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris for the expansion. Robbins said the county provides clinician support at the shelter to conduct mental-health assessments and to certify people for Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) housing when appropriate.

Why it matters: Officials said behavioral-health beds and on-site clinical supports reduce the chance that people will be placed into housing before their health needs are addressed. Robbins argued that addressing mental and physical health and income before placement lowers recidivism into homelessness.

Shelter operator and services: Mercy House operates shelter logistics, including laundry, security and transportation shuttles, Robbins said. Celebrating Life Community Health Center provides street medicine and Enhanced Care Management (ECM) at the shelter; Robbins said the Celebrating Life team also runs a clinic in the city. Homeless Intervention Services OC (HIS OC) was described as delivering CalAIM community supports such as navigation and one-time deposit assistance (up to $5,000) and housing-retention follow-up for up to six months.

Homekey projects: Officials reviewed two Homekey conversions. Mesa Vista (a converted Motel 6) is managed by Quality Management Group and owned by Community Development Partners; officials said it has 86 units, 40 of which are permanent supportive housing (PSH) units (10 veteran units and 30 with MHSA certification). A second Homekey conversion at the former Travelodge on Bristol and Red Hill will be called Avon River Apartments, officials said; they described it as 76 units, 100 percent PSH, with 48 project-based vouchers and 10 veteran units. Robbins said Costa Mesa contributed $4,000,000 and Newport Beach $3,000,000 to that project and that American Family Housing will provide property management and services. The Avon River project was expected to complete in roughly six months from the presentation date.

Partner contributions: Robbins said IKEA provided initial furniture for the shelter and offers a program to furnish apartments for newly housed clients at close-to-wholesale cost. He also credited Vanguard University and the University of California, Irvine for volunteer and internship partnerships that provide services and workforce training in the shelter kitchen and programs.

Officials said funding for many of the shelter improvements comes from a patchwork of state and county grants, intercity contributions and operator resources. Robbins and other speakers warned that federal policy and voucher availability (Section 8) can affect long-term housing capacity, though they said Costa Mesa's two Homekey projects currently provide substantial PSH capacity.

Ending: City leaders called the new behavioral-health beds and the Homekey projects key steps toward placing people into stable housing with on-site services, and asked residents to continue reporting needs to the NHS hotline and 311 so outreach and housing navigation can follow up.