In 2020, Huntington Beach opened a spacious navigation center. Since then, it has been accommodating hundreds of individuals in the City of Huntington Beach. The manager of Behavioral Health Services and Homelessness Coordinator for Huntington Beach, Jason Austin, said that the homeless shelter program has been extremely successful. As for Austin, it is clear from the numbers themselves and does not need any further explanation.
By August 2021, over 100 individuals slept at this temporary shelter along Beach Boulevard every night, which totaled 30,871 people right through the year. Of those 30,871 people, Huntington Beach tallied 277 unique occupants last year. If a person left the shelter and then returned to it, Austin stated that it would only count them once.
The dome on the boulevard can accommodate 174 beds, but Austin stated that those have been brought down to 127 beds in the pandemic period for further distancing. Huntington Beach uses the shelter as a stopping point during a journey for people as they seek a much more permanent option. It offers support services to help those people find permanent accommodation. In 2021, 71 occupants could find permanent accommodation.
Austin stated that the shelter does not want people to use it as their new house but rather as a stopping point. Austin also said that while the shelter expects occupants to move out after some months, it sometimes takes a while longer.
The tent may be durable and well-insulated but is not supposed to stand in place for good. In around five years, Huntington Beach plans on replacing the tent with buildings to enable affordable accommodation. It was the original objective of Huntington Beach as it bought the location last February. Meanwhile, the city will find a different location to establish a homeless shelter on a permanent basis.
The shelter serves all three meals per day as well as served 72,296 people last year. It also offers laundry service, counseling and showers.
Austin stated that showers and clean clothing make a big difference for people who deal with many vulnerabilities.
Mercy House from Santa Ana handles janitorial services and other daily shelter operations. The structure made of canvas recently replaced an ancient residence on the parcel of land of three acres wedged between medical offices, apartment complexes and strip malls.
Before this, Orange County did not have such a tent to shelter people without a home. San Diego and Los Angeles are among many cities in the US with ready-to-setup navigation centers.
In 2021, the Homeless Task Force of Huntington Beach made around 4,500 outreach communications to about 300 unhoused individuals in the US city.
The shelter lets Huntington Beach cops put anti-encampment orders into practice. As per a 2019 United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling, a city in the US cannot criminalize homeless and indigent individuals for sleeping in the open air if they lack other options.
Then, Huntington Beach city got a bit of help financing the shelter. Further, thanks to court mandates, Orange County reimbursed Huntington Beach $2 million as the city earmarked 30 beds for its use.
Austin stated that this navigation center has been moving people from the streets into a much safer situation daily.
