An assemblage of old shipping containers creatively turned into a homeless shelter, began accepting new residents on Tuesday, June 30, in Buena Park.
Staff at the facility, called a navigation center, expected to process about 10 people a day, and said the shelter could reach it’s lower, pandemic-compelled capacity of 100 beds in 10 days.
Located in an industrial area at 6494 Caballero Blvd., the center is the newest post in a growing cluster of homeless shelters in Orange County that aim to help homeless people navigate their way off the streets by connecting them with services at the shelter such as health care, education and jobs programs.
A similar navigation center opened in Placentia in late March. Both are meant to help combat homelessness in north Orange County and the impact on city parks, streets and neighborhoods, ensuring anti-camping laws can be enforced, city staff said.
The transitional center was built on a 25,500-square-foot, city-owned parcel that was once home to a municipal water well and a firefighter training tower.
The normally 149-bed facility will be run by Mercy House, a nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services for homeless people.
At full capacity, the Buena Park center will have 90 beds for men, 49 beds for women and 10 beds for couples.
“However, given COVID-19, we are limiting the number of beds in order to maintain distance,” said Timothy Huynh, chief program officer at Mercy House.
That cuts down capacity during the pandemic to 61 men’s beds, 31 women’s beds and 8 couple’s beds. Mercy House staff also will install extra plastic dividers to act as shields between residents.
Beds for men and women are in large rooms at opposite ends of the shelter, split by a middle atrium with an entrance lobby, cafeteria, medical clinic and a conference room.
The intake process can be stressful to new arrivals – getting signed up typically takes more than two hours and prospective residents may have drug or mental health issues to manage, Huynh said. That is why the center will only accept 10 referrals a day to start with. He expects beds to fill fast.
During the process, people will get a new set of clothes and a shower. Pets also are welcome at the facility; a dog run was still under construction Monday.
“We find that (not) allowing animals into shelters really is a significant barrier to folks,” Huynh said.
At a grand opening event Monday, homeless advocates and local residents toured the building and asked questions. Some repeated previously raised concerns such as would homeless people who have used illegal drugs wander into neighborhoods nearby.
Huynh said illegal drug paraphernalia would be confiscated as a condition of staying at the shelter, and there would be round-the-clock security guards inside and outside the facility.
Buena Park City Manager Jim Vanderpool said locating the facility on a city-owned property, in an industrial area, with convenient boundaries seemed to be a great fit.
“We made a commitment to the industrial businesses in the area that we would maintain safety, and we’re going to keep that commitment,” Vanderpool said.
Opening the navigation center won’t mean an end to homelessness in the area, Huynh said, but something has to be done.
“This is not the finish line,” he said. “Once you come in here, this is the start. The finish line is when you go to your own home.”
