Officials say outreach has led to improved homeless situation at Fountain Valley Sports Park

Fountain Valley officials say the city has turned to an approach of employing compassion and outreach to address a homeless encampment inside Fountain Valley Sports Park.

City officials gave an update on the situation Tuesday at a meeting of the Fountain Valley City Council, and presenters said the homeless population has largely responded well to recent engagements.

At the start of March, the city contracted City Net to help facilitate those efforts in collaboration with the police department. The nonprofit operates in that capacity across five Southern California counties — from Santa Barbara to San Diego. City Net states it is “committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness in the communities we serve by connecting neighbors experiencing homelessness to transformative care and innovative housing solutions.�

“We’ve already seen that arresting our way out of the homeless social problem is ineffective,� Fountain Valley Police Chief Matt Sheppard said. “So that’s why we as a city have elected to continuously go down the road of providing opportunities [to] facilitate change and decision-making with our homeless population.

“We don’t want to kick the can down the road. We want to help solve the problem, and solving the problem means connecting homeless persons with the healthcare system, getting them the help that they need, and also getting them into housing. … We have to take that compassionate approach in order to help facilitate the best possibility for change.�

Sheppard added the city has had access to the Yale Navigation Center, a homeless shelter in Santa Ana, and it has had some success getting people into the facility.

MJ (chose not to give her last name) lights a cigarette in her tent near the Fountain Valley Sports Park on Thursday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

“On March 1, we went to the park, and we encountered 15 tents with 16 to 18 individuals living in and around the Sports Park,� Jessica Avelar-Bruce, chief program officer for City Net, said. “As of May 2, we are down to three tents with four remaining individuals. We are continuing to engage those four individuals. We know them very well, and we are trying to get them on track to get into housing.�

Rob Frizzelle, community services director for Fountain Valley, said city staff had been in contact with user groups of the Sports Park — including various baseball and softball organizations. He said one youth league president expressed appreciation at the noted reduction in tents surrounding the athletic fields.

A woman living in one of the remaining tents indicated her trust with those running outreach efforts was damaged when she had possessions taken.

“To take my stuff was the breaking point where I was like, ‘Oh, maybe they’re not as good as I thought they were,’� MJ, who did not disclose her last name, said Thursday. “That’s my livelihood, that’s my everything.�

The city must retain personal property seized for a period of 90 days, and Sheppard said possessions that are brought in are being kept at the city yard. MJ, who is from Arizona, said she would be reluctant to turn up.

“Would you want to talk to the police to get your stuff back?� MJ said. “It’s embarrassing. I don’t want to go to rehab. I don’t want to go to a shelter. I did six years in prison. I’m PTSD.�

Deborah Edwards, 52, cleans up a site where she and three other homeless individuals have pitched tents at the Fountain Valley Sports Park on Thursday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Deborah Edwards, who said she and her two dogs arrived at Fountain Valley Sports Park just a few days ago, said persons experiencing homelessness continue to be subjected to stereotypes.

“There’s a difference from a homeless person to a regular person because there just is. … Society frowns,� Edwards said, noting she feels safer with other people around her. “It’s like when people look, when they walk past us here, a lot of times they’ll say hi, but a lot of times, they just have their nose in the air and they don’t want to look at us or say hi to us, which is understandable. We’re an eyesore to them. I understand that, but we’re also human beings.�

When she spoke on Thursday, Edwards said she was anticipating being contacted again by City Net on Friday.

Prior enforcement of a park closure ordinance saw Fountain Valley police cite Nancy Wood four times in a 13-month period between March 3, 2020, and March 17, 2021, for residing in a tent in the park. The woman brought forth a necessity defense in the case, and she was acquitted by a jury. The case was heard during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Counsel providing legal background during the homeless update said it would be a toss-up now as to whether a jury would acquit a person of a park closure ordinance violation due to the pandemic. Limited shelter space would also be a consideration.

“If persons have nowhere else to go, it is more likely than not that a jury would acquit them of violating the park closure ordinance,� Alexandra Halfman, an attorney for the city, said.

Three tents stand along a walking path near the Fountain Valley Sports Park at Mile Square Park on Thursday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Sheppard shared the city received a $500,000 award from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to assist the unhoused and those at risk of homelessness.

“I wanted to reassure the residents that this is a priority for all of us council members,� Mayor Patrick Harper said. “We will do everything we can to keep this city safe and clean and get these folks connected to permanent housing, better housing, off our streets, out of our parks and into more appropriate housing.�

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