City staff on Tuesday told the Santa Ana City Council that a city-directed census and survey conducted with CityNet and local outreach teams shows a reduction in unsheltered homelessness and offers new demographic detail intended to guide service allocation.

Mike Garcia, the executive staff lead for the presentation, and Ken Gaminski, homeless services division manager, said the city ran targeted field counts in October using GIS-based surveys and duplicated records were removed before analysis. Garcia described the work as “extremely similar” to the county point‑in‑time count but with additional interview questions intended to capture duration, income, and service connections.

The presentation included headline figures staff repeatedly cited in council discussion: a reported 592 unsheltered individuals identified in October 2024 and a later point‑in‑time figure of 501 in 2025; staff characterized this as roughly a 15.4% year‑over‑year reduction. Garcia and Ken cautioned that the counts measure unsheltered persons only and do not include people in shelter or transitional housing. Ken Gaminski said the census found “the typical unhoused individual” to be Hispanic or Latino males aged 18–44, often experiencing homelessness for 3–10 years and reporting substance‑use and long employment gaps.

Council members pressed staff for clarity about outcomes and operations. Mayor Meskwah and others asked what a “positive exit” meant; Garcia and Ken defined it as movement off the street into shelters, hospitals or psychiatric facilities, transitional housing, family reunification or similar stable arrangements. As Garcia explained, the 890 “positive exits” cited in the presentation include 697 shelter exits plus other placements such as hospitals or reunification.

The council also focused on the city‑operated shelter model and enforcement questions. Garcia said the city’s shelter operator contract with the Illumination Foundation is currently $3,700,000 and CityNet’s outreach and engagement contract is $3,600,000. He also stated the City purchased the shelter property for about $18,500,000 and that the total program costs exceeded $30,000,000 after development. On shelter rules, Garcia confirmed the city adopted a 120‑day policy this year and said that policy is intended to balance emergency shelter access with transition supports; he said the shelter “has an established 120 day time frame.”

On drug testing, Garcia and Ken told the council that the shelter does not test every resident daily. Ken described testing as limited to situations in which staff observe signs of intoxication: “Drug testing is not a common practice at the shelter,” he said. Council members urged the city to adopt clear, non‑punitive protocols that use testing to connect people to treatment rather than to exclude them.

Councilmembers asked staff to add questions and share additional data in future counts — for example, how many young adults experienced homelessness after aging out of foster care, and a breakdown separating veterans eligible for VA services from those who are not. Staff agreed to incorporate those data requests and committed to provide twice‑yearly presentations to the council.

The council discussion also emphasized interjurisdictional coordination. Several members asked staff to document what the County of Orange contributes to outreach and services for Santa Ana residents and to work with neighboring cities on creek and flood‑control channel issues that span jurisdictions.

Next steps: staff said they will provide the additional breakdowns requested by council, include county service contributions in future reports, and continue biannual public briefings on homelessness data and shelter outcomes.