The pandemic disrupted Orange County United Way’s Welcome Home OC public-private initiative,which is a broad push to address homelessness. But progress continues to be made — so far in 2020, 141 people have been housed.
The initiative, launched in March 2019, has faced delays in helping to house people with subsidized government vouchers, partly because shuttered government offices meant it was hard for housing candidates to get essential documents.
But Becks Heyhoe, executive director of United Way OC’s United to End Homelessness campaign, said things are getting back on track. More than 60 voucher holders have entered the housing pipeline of Welcome Home OC over the past two months. United Way works with landlords and housing navigators from groups that help place homeless people in apartments.