Homelessness

What is the City doing about homelessness?

The City has allocated significant resources to address homelessness including a dedicated, full-time police officer assigned to the matter, working closely with the County of Orange Health Care Agency's case management staff, and contracting with CityNet to provide homeless outreach services. Working with our homeless neighbors is on a case-by-case basis, as each individual's needs are different.

Staff and our contracted resource providers work to get to know the individual to see if we can get them into eligible services such as housing, rehabilitation, medical treatment and more. It is important to note that most individuals do not accept assistance right away, therefore multiple visits can be required before we gain an individual's trust to speak with us and to let us help them work toward a solution. 

Recently, the City Council formed a Homeless Task Force, consisting of council members and community members, to develop a plan to reduce or eliminate homelessness. The task force is brainstorming on strategies to integrate services, developing a list of community partners willing to provide assistance, reviewing and considering temporary housing solutions, and developing metrics to monitor the reduction of homelessness. Task force meetings are open to the public. If you have ideas for solving the homeless issue, please consider attending. 

Have questions?

The City has compiled some frequently asked questions about homelessness.

Homelessness by the numbers

Newport Beach has some individuals who currently are experiencing homelessness due to a lack of affordable housing, employment, health and mental services or have experienced life-changing events. During the April 2019 Point in Time Count, the below demographic information was documented.

Documents and Resources

• Addressing Homelessness in Orange County: Information from the County of Orange regarding Homelessness
• 2019 Orange County Point in Time Count: Results of the biennial count of the homeless population in Orange County.
• County of Orange 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness: A working group of diverse public and private stakeholders developed a plan that provides a road map of how to effectively end homelessness in Orange County.
• County of Orange Continuum of Care: A coordinated a comprehensive regional approach to develop and implement a strategy to address homelessness in Orange County.
• Shelter Programs in Orange County: Currently, there is not a shelter or temporary / permanent supportive housing in Newport Beach.

What is homelessness?

The federal government defines "homelessness" as a condition in which an individual or family lacks a fixed, regular, nighttime residence; resides in a public or private residence that is not designed or intended to be a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; lives in a supervised shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements; and/or is at imminent risk of loosing their housing and has no subsequent residence identified or resources to obtain other permanent housing.

There are multiple "types" of homelessness, the most common include the following:

• Short Term: Those who have fallen on hard times financially and have been bumped out of housing. They have no major issues but are scrambling to find new housing arrangements in a short time span.
• Medium Term: Those who have one major issue (mental illness, substance abuse, health problems, legal problems), but are able to get back on their feet within a year, working through the major life challenge.
• Chronic: Those who have multiple major issues (a combinations of mental illness, substance abuse, health problems, legal problems) and find themselves homeless for more than a year, sometimes taking several years to work through the multiple life challenges. The federal government estimates that 10 percent of the national homeless population fall into this category.

Homelessness is a very unique form of poverty, one that lacks personal relationships and financial resources.These individuals typically have no one to turn to for shelter or assistance. They are individuals who have gone through difficult experiences and need help getting back on their feet. 

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