[ti:California Cities Turn Industrial Spaces into Homeless Shelters] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Two property developers in California [00:03.72]are turning huge, industrial spaces [00:07.12]into shelters for homeless people. [00:11.60]The developers – brothers Ryan and Jeremy Ogulnick [00:17.56]– created their first shelter in just under a month [00:22.00]in the Orange County city of Santa Ana. [00:26.92]The effort helped the city deal with its homeless crisis. [00:32.56]The brothers then repeated the process [00:35.28]in the nearby cities of Anaheim and Fullerton. [00:40.12]They were able to convert properties [00:43.44]into shelters in a matter of months. [00:47.24]In each case, the Ogulnicks also made a profit for themselves. [00:53.36]Such shelters have given a second chance [00:57.60]to people like Roland Flores. [01:00.52]The 48-year-old was living with his grandmother [01:05.20]as her caretaker and lost the home when she died. [01:10.28]Today, he lives at the Fullerton shelter. [01:14.56]During his nine-month stay at the shelter, [01:18.72]he has been able to seek medical treatment [01:22.40]and get his birth certificate and Social Security card. [01:27.56]"They're giving me the tools that I need," [01:31.20]Flores said of the workers at the shelter. [01:34.72]The non-profit group Illumination Foundation [01:39.28]operates the Fullerton shelter. [01:42.04]Ryan Ogulnick says he could build 50 such shelters [01:47.08]across Southern California if the money was available. [01:51.88]Instead of leasing the spaces to private companies, [01:56.36]they are rented to a city or to homeless services providers. [02:01.68]"It's such a simple solution," Ogulnick said. [02:06.04]His company, Vineyards Development, invested $9.2 million [02:11.76]to rebuild the new Santa Ana Carnegie Shelter [02:16.00]over a period of nine months. [02:18.80]The company will rent it to the Illumination Foundation [02:23.28]and the city for $44,000 a month when it opens next week. [02:31.60]As quick and simple as they are, [02:34.32]these emergency shelters are only a short-term solution. [02:39.76]Affordable housing is limited and housing costs continue to rise. [02:46.04]Some critics are worried that Orange County officials [02:49.96]are content with a solution that does not lead [02:53.92]to permanent housing for the homeless. [02:57.40]"It's very clear that the strategy being [03:00.96]used right now in Orange County is more about appearances [03:05.44]than solutions," said lawyer Brooke Weitzman. [03:10.00]She is co-founder of ELDR Center, [03:13.40]a law office representing people [03:16.16]who are homeless, older, or disabled. [03:19.64]Last year, the United States was about 7 million units [03:24.88]short of enough affordable housing, [03:28.00]said a study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. [03:32.96]In Los Angeles County, the homeless population [03:37.24]is estimated at 66,000. [03:41.44]Orange County, just south of L.A. County, [03:45.12]has a homeless population of about 7,000. [03:49.12]Nearly 60 percent of the homeless population [03:53.08]is unsheltered, the latest complete count in 2019 found. [04:00.20]Shelters increased in numbers [04:02.68]after a 2018 federal appeals court ruling [04:07.00]banned police from arresting people on the streets [04:10.64]if a community lacks enough shelter beds. [04:14.76]Emergency shelter beds in Orange County [04:18.04]increased 159 percent from 2015 to 2021, [04:24.16]according to Orange County [04:26.44]Homeless Management Information System data. [04:29.68]However, permanent supportive housing, [04:33.72]which provides housing as well as social services, [04:37.64]grew by just 13 percent over that same period. [04:42.84]"Instead of building actual...affordable housing, [04:46.56]what they've done is throw up mass shelters," said Eve Garrow. [04:51.68]She is a homelessness policy expert and activist [04:56.36]at the ACLU of Southern California. [05:00.68]Paul Leon is president and CEO of the Illumination Foundation. [05:06.52]He agrees that more housing is needed, [05:09.52]but he said many people are unprepared to go immediately [05:14.68]from the street to being responsible for a home. [05:18.40]His foundation has operated all of the shelters built by the Ogulnicks. [05:24.72]The foundation offers support services [05:27.76]including healthcare and mental health and drug abuse counseling. [05:32.84]The Ogulnicks turned a former engineering company [05:36.60]in an industrial area into the 150-bed Fullerton Navigation Center. [05:44.20]In an effort to reduce complaints from neighbors, [05:47.88]the shelter bans residents from walking in and out. [05:52.24]This keeps them out of public view. [05:55.08]Shelter vehicle drivers take residents in and out through a side gate. [06:01.52]Leon said most people with support [06:04.88]move from the streets to homes of their own. [06:08.36]Some of those who do not may go to jail or return to the streets. [06:14.24]"That tells us we need more housing," Leon said. [06:18.68]Weitzman has concerns about Ogulnick's claims [06:22.00]about the speed and cost-effectiveness of mass shelters. [06:27.16]She said the best solution to homelessness has always been housing. [06:33.72]"When people are homeless, they're those homeless folks," Weitzman said. [06:38.36]"And when people are housed, they're your neighbors." [06:42.48]I'm Ashley Thompson. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM