Buena@park September 13, 2022 The Honorable Erick L. Larsh Presiding Judge of the Superior Court*

The County of Orange and cities within Orange County have been inconsistent in collaboration for support of shelters and services, which has resulted in missed opportunities to end homelessness. The City of Buena Park disagrees wholly with this finding. The collaboration Response: between the County of Orange, Orange County Continuum of Care, and Orange County cities have resulted in the creation of navigation centers with associated services that better address the homelessness crisis. In particular, over the past three years, the 13 cities that comprise the North Service Planning Area (N-SPA) and the County of Orange have worked together to construct, manage, and fund two Navigation Centers: one in Buena Park and one in Placentia. Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the participating N-SPA cities have developed a partnership to ensure proper governance, secure funding, determine cost sharing, and enumerate operational responsibilities. Additionally, the two Navigation Centers have been a part of a first- of-its-kind shelter bed reservation management system app that provides real-time data on the availability of beds in any of the surrounding shelters. Cities in the N- SPA have also contributed to the Bridges at Kraemer county facility as well as funded homeless efforts in their respective cities. More specifically, the City of Buena Park has enhanced its homeless outreach to include a Homeless Outreach Team within its Community Services Department and Homeless Liaison Officers in the Police Department, who work together to addresses homelessness from a more holistic approach rather than strictly enforcement methods. 6650 Beach Boulevard | P.O. Box 5009 | Buena Park, CA | 90622-5009 | [714] 562-3500 | BuenaPark.com The Honorable Erick L. Larsh How is Orange County Addressing Homelessness?

There are an insufficient number of rental units available to those existing Emergency Shelters, resulting in the majority returning to homelessness when leaving the shelters. The City of Buena Park agrees partially with the finding. The County of Orange Response: has countywide oversight of the Coordinated Entry System, which streamlines access and referrals to permanent housing opportunities. Often unhoused individuals and families, who are working toward a permanent housing option may experience delays and barriers in securing rental units due to a variety of factors (e.g. increased cost of living, lack of income/credit history, criminal backgrounds, etc.) Due to these individualized barriers, the County has invested in programs with specialized staff to help successfully find and secure housing units. These efforts have resulted in housing-focused emergency shelters, increased housing navigation and unit identification programming, and enhanced supportive services to assist those in need to secure permanent housing. At a local level, the City of Buena Park has a total of 710 affordable rental units and 129 affordable ownership units at various affordability levels. Additionally, there are a total of 178 affordable units in varying stages of entitlements and/or construction phases that will be added to the housing unit inventory in the next few years. Of these, 67 units are classified as permanent supportive housing (PSH) units. Although all of these current and proposed units are privately-owned and managed, the City has provided funding for several of these affordable housing developments.