The mayor of Santa Ana believes her “get tough” approach toward homeless people is working, and that the number of people living on the streets there has actually fallen.
Mayor Valerie Amezcua told KNX News’ Jon Baird that Santa Ana has teams that go out every single day and tell homeless people that they can go to a shelter, or detox, an addiction treatment program, or get mental health services. Those who refuse may end up behind bars.
She said most often, they refuse the help
“I would say about 70% refuse services,” she said. “They'd say, ‘I'd rather go to jail. I don't want to go to the shelter. I don't want to have a curfew. I don't want to have rules that I must abide by. They'd rather go to jail.’”
Amezcua said that they have made a dent in the number of people living on the street,
“In 2024, 871 individuals were experiencing homelessness in the city of Santa Ana,” she said. “We did the count this last year. We're down to 714.”
Baird spoke with residents about the mayor’s approach. One man named Dave was surprised that there were some people who didn’t accept the help.
“You have a place to live in a shelter versus in jail,” he said. “I mean, come on, there's nothing to explain about that. If you can't handle that, you must be dumb as a brick.”
But another man said putting them in jail means they’ll end up on the street again.
“Go to the jails for a couple of days and go back again,” he said.
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