Orange County continues to face persistent challenges in addressing homelessness, with recent budget proposals reflecting a prioritization of law enforcement over evidence-based housing solutions. The approach known as Housing First, which emerged in New York City during the early 1990s, has gained national recognition as an effective strategy, becoming a cornerstone of the federal government’s response to homelessness between 2010 and 2016. Decades of research consistently indicate that providing permanent housing as a primary intervention leads to greater housing stability, improved health outcomes, reduced chronic homelessness, and lower long-term public costs.
This strategy is rooted in the simple observation that individuals experiencing homelessness most often identify safe, stable, permanent housing as their greatest need. Housing First recognizes that a stable home provides the essential foundation for individuals to address mental health needs, substance use disorders, chronic medical conditions, employment, education, and family reunification, rather than housing being a reward contingent on resolving these issues.
Despite this evidence, many elected officials in Orange County, including members of the Board of Supervisors, continue to view housing predominantly as a market commodity rather than as essential public infrastructure or a fundamental human right. This perspective persists even as thousands of Orange County residents remain unhoused. The human cost of homelessness in the county is significant; over the past ten years, more than 3,471 people without a fixed abode have died. During just the first six months of 2026, over 100 unhoused individuals lost their lives. These deaths are attributed to systemic failures, inadequate public investment, and a lack of political will to ensure access to safe, affordable permanent housing, healthcare, and basic necessities.
The proposed Orange County Fiscal Year 2026–27 budget illustrates a continued prioritization of incarceration and law enforcement over permanent housing and homelessness solutions. The Board of Supervisors proposes allocating approximately $320 million in discretionary Net County Cost (NCC) funding for jail operations. Concurrently, approximately $357 million in discretionary NCC funding is proposed for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. In contrast, the budget dedicates comparatively almost nothing of its discretionary funding to developing critically needed permanent housing for people with extremely low, very low, and low incomes.
This annual pattern in Orange County’s budget priorities suggests an ongoing commitment to managing the consequences of homelessness rather than actively preventing and ending it. Public funds continue to be directed disproportionately toward enforcement, displacement, incarceration, emergency response, and crisis intervention. This allocation occurs instead of investing in permanent housing, supportive services, and Housing First strategies, which have repeatedly demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing homelessness and saving lives.
While Supervisors have frequently attributed persistent homelessness to factors such as rising housing costs, limited cooperation from cities, insufficient land, high building material costs, and budget constraints, these challenges are noted to not diminish the County’s responsibility to make policy and budget decisions that prioritize proven solutions. Furthermore, despite frequently citing limited financial resources for housing investments, the Board of Supervisors, with one exception, voted to increase their personal annual compensation by approximately $49,000. The proposed budget further highlights this funding orientation by allocating approximately $114 to Public Protection for every $1 allocated to Orange County Community Resources, demonstrating a preference for responding to homelessness after it occurs rather than investing in preventive permanent housing.
Housing First is presented as an evidence-based public policy that not only saves lives but also improves public health, strengthens communities, and enhances the effectiveness of first responders by reducing unnecessary emergency calls. Studies have indicated that providing permanent housing is significantly less expensive than the costs associated with repeated hospitalizations, emergency medical care, law enforcement involvement, jail stays, and other crisis services. Orange County is stated to possess both the financial resources and the legal authority to substantially reduce homelessness by making permanent housing a genuine budget priority.
The underlying question, as framed, is no longer whether Housing First works; the evidence has answered that question repeatedly over the past three decades. Instead, the focus is on whether the Orange County Supervisors have the political will to align public policy and spending with demonstrated effective strategies. A budget, understood as a moral document, reflects a community’s values. Investing in policies that protect human dignity, preserve life, and serve the common good is advocated, urging Orange County to prioritize housing before incarceration, prevention before punishment, and people before politics.
