Garden Grove council hears progress report on homelessness strategy, navigation center capacity near full

Garden Grove city staff presented an update to the City Council on the Comprehensive Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness, reporting operational milestones at the new Central Cities Navigation Center and outlining a draft five-year strategy that staff will return with in June.

The navigation center, a joint effort among Garden Grove, Fountain Valley and Westminster, began operations on 06/12/2024 and accommodates 85 beds with capacity to expand to 100, staff said. "Since opening, the navigation center has streamlined its referral and intake process," Administrative Analyst Christy Lee said, and as of the presentation staff reported the center had served 257 clients, including 164 Garden Grove residents, with 81 clients currently in residence (81 of 85 beds occupied) and four beds available.

The update summarized program outcomes and partnerships: VOA Los Angeles (VOALA) operates the site; Illumination Foundation provides housing navigation; Vituity and the Orange County Health Care Agency have offered on-site health clinics; and Caltrans and the city funded fencing and maintenance efforts along state right-of-way where encampments were concentrated. "The Navigation Center began operations on 06/12/2024," Lee said.

Why it matters: City leaders said the navigation center and related outreach programs are central to the plan's goal of moving people into permanent housing, a shortfall staff acknowledged remains the program's largest challenge.

Consultant Susan Price, who the city retained to assess Garden Grove's system of care, praised the Tri-Cities collaboration and the City's use of resources while identifying gaps. "I'm super impressed by what I'm seeing here in the city of Garden Grove on a number of levels," Price said, while noting access to behavioral health beds and addiction treatment remain constrained and are primarily county-funded resources.

Project Manager Timothy Throne summarized the draft vision and mission for the next five years: "The vision statement is 'housing security is attainable for all,'" he said, and the draft goals include enhanced communication and community engagement; improved service delivery across prevention, outreach, shelter and housing exits; leveraging partnerships and funding; and prioritizing quality of life for residents and businesses.

Staff reported specific program results since the navigation center opened: 179 client exits (to housing placements, rehab placements or for other reasons), eleven housing placements through family reunification and rehabilitation programs, three clients enrolling in school (including Santa Ana College and trade schools), and 28 clients securing employment after outreach and partnership supports. Staff also said a live data-tracking dashboard is in place for the operator to record daily client metrics and that 90% of navigation center clients are "document ready" for housing.

Council members pressed staff on operational details and neighborhood impacts. A council question about the Special Resource Team prompted a response that the SRT is currently "made up of 4 officers, a sergeant, and a lieutenant," and that two additional officers were placed on loan to expand capacity, Chief Alfaro added. Council members also asked about community outreach and language-access services for Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese and Spanish speakers; staff agreed to expand public information channels, including app and website postings.

Staff previewed an upcoming item at the April 8 meeting: an award letter to support a senior-affordable housing project affiliated with Saint Enslums Church that could produce approximately 85 affordable units, including 21 permanent supportive units for seniors. Timothy Throne said the city will return in June with a final strategic plan that includes performance metrics (KPIs) and an annual action plan aligned with the budget cycle.

The presentation also summarized two Caltrans agreements supporting fencing and delegated maintenance along the 22 Freeway (phase 1 and phase 2) with a combined cooperative agreement value of $1,500,000 for reimbursable construction costs and a delegated maintenance allocation of $266,000 for debris abatement and fence upkeep.

Ending: Council members praised staff and the collaborative approach while acknowledging continued barriers, notably the availability of long-term supportive housing and behavioral-health placements. Staff said the June return will include KPIs and an annual action plan aligned to the fiscal year so the council can evaluate budget alignment with the strategy.