The issue of homelessness…
As homelessness continues to become a priority for communities across the nation, the City of Dana Point understands the need to coordinate resources that provide services to improve the situation of homeless individuals and families in our neighborhoods.
The City currently has outreach activities through Mercy House six days a week to make connections to services, prepare homeless to be document ready for housing and conduct housing assessments to service ready individuals and families. Dana Point’s active monthly client load on average is around 30 individuals. In 2018, Dana Point had a combined total of 634 interactions with individuals and families by the City’s homeless outreach efforts.
These included:
- 22 housing placements
- 149 intakes were completed
- 147 linkages to services
- 7 diversion resources
- 132 collaborative case management situations
- 29 field support calls
Additionally, the City values safe and welcoming public spaces for residents and visitors and is focused on helping Dana Point’s homeless say safe, healthy and law-abiding while awaiting housing and services. We understand homeless suffer disproportionally from health and safety concerns and work closely with partners from County Public and Behavioral Health to address these needs.
The City allows emergency shelters to have up to 20 beds permitted by-right in the Community Facilities Zones. Churches are permitted up to 10 beds by-right. The City and the community support a housing first approach. The City has supported efforts to establish permanent supportive housing in Dana Point and Dana Point Homes for the Homeless, a grassroots community effort, was established in 2018 to raise private funds to assist Dana Point’s homeless in obtaining stable housing. Dana Point also has 242 residential recovery beds.
Regarding the recently-initiated litigation against Dana Point and four other Orange County cities, the City takes this matter very seriously. Dana Point has been working to address these issues for years and will continue to work in a productive way with other partners.
Know someone in need? You can connect with an outreach worker by calling (949) 441-6269. For additional resource information and local statistics visit our Homeless Resources website page.