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City presents July homeless outreach data: staff made 149 engagements, 140 shelter offers declined
Summary
City staff reported a monthly homeless outreach update for July showing 149 proactive client encounters, 37 new engagements, 161 external contacts and multiple individual case stories illustrating challenges in connecting people to shelter and services.
Staunton — City staff presented a monthly homeless outreach report for July that included counts of contacts and case summaries and reiterated the city’s enforcement posture on antisocial and illegal behavior.
"For the month of July, the city engaged in 149 proactive total client encounters with 37 of those being new client engagements," a staff member told the council. Staff said they received 161 contacts from homeless individuals, advocates, service providers and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department requesting coordination, navigation and assistance.
The report listed services outreach teams provide: needs assessments, shelter offers and navigation to resources, temporary storage for personal effects at the city yard, debris and sanitation cleanups, and referrals and direct contact information for residents and businesses. Staff reported that 140 offers of shelter were declined in July and that staff received 10 shelter requests when no beds were available.
Staff described several individual case outcomes: two people were connected to interim housing placements, one to mental-health services, one to primary care and five to benefits assistance. Staff also recounted an outreach effort that secured a bed for an individual at the Buena Park Navigation Center but said that person later voluntarily exited the shelter and is ineligible to return for 30 days. Another client repeatedly missed DMV appointments needed to obtain documentation for placement on the county housing list; staff attributed part of that client’s difficulty to ongoing substance-abuse issues.
Staff emphasized the city’s dual approach of outreach and enforcement. "While the city has allocated significant resources to outreach and has worked diligently to connect individuals to appropriate resources, the city does not tolerate antisocial or illegal behavior regardless of the perpetrator," staff said, and noted coordination with code enforcement, public works and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department contract to enforce municipal-code and state-law violations.
Staff named the highest-priority locations for July as Veterans Park, Stanton Park and the south side of Cattellah Avenue and Mercantile. Staff made clear they will continue proactive engagement and offered to answer council questions.
