Homeless Need Armory Access

In the four years since Gov. Pete Wilson first warned that National Guard armories no longer might be available to shelter the homeless on cold winter nights, Orange County has done far less than it should have to fill the gap.

Wilson granted counties a reprieve from his original deadline of spring 1995 to return the armories to their original purpose as a parade ground and drilling field for troops under the governor’s command. Now the second deadline is approaching--spring of 1997--and county officials fear this one will hold.

The governor should extend the deadline. At the same time, the county should continue efforts to help those who are too often forgotten and have few advocates.

The county’s Homeless Issues Task Force has made some progress in counting the homeless and identifying their needs. County government and cities need to do more, possibly including meeting on how to create permanent, year-round shelters.

Cities have been quick to pass laws barring homeless people from camping overnight on public property. But passing those ordinances without offering help is an abdication of responsibility. Many of the estimated 12,000 homeless in affluent Orange County are women and children. The number of beds for mothers and their families is tragically small.

Gov. George Deukmejian began the Armory Shelter Program in 1987 as a temporary measure. It was a good, compassionate decision, designed to give communities time to find a better way to help the homeless. It is true that armories were not intended as shelters, but the two in Santa Ana and the one in Fullerton have offered protection from the cold for hundreds of people each night.

It would cost the state little to keep the armories open during cold weather. But if they are closed, it will be up to the county and cities to look for churches, closed schools and other empty buildings to meet the need.