An Important Weekly Update from Supervisor Foley

County of Orange, California sent this bulletin at 07/08/2022 05:16 PM PDT

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Volume 2 | Issue 26

July 8, 2022

Supervisor’s Message

Dear Neighbor:

This week started with a bang! On Sunday, many cities hosted Independence Day celebrations and community concerts. I attended the City of Costa Mesa event at the OC Fair. Thank you to Mayor Stephens and the Costa Mesa City Council for continuing to support this fun community event. More than 4000 residents showed up for the fun. Watch the fun video capturing the event here.

Participating in our neighborhood’s Annual 4th of July Bike & Golf Cart Parade remains one of my most cherished memories from when my boys were growing up. I loved seeing so many new families and kids participating this year and enjoying the festivities at Tewinkle Park as we all celebrated our nation’s independence. I had fun celebrating the 4th with neighbors and lifelong friends.

We got back to work after the celebrations. One of my top priorities since joining the Board has been to reduce homelessness across the County. This week, I was invited to tour Family Assistance Ministries (FAM) to learn about the great work they do from South Orange County through Anaheim. FAM is a faith-based charitable non-profit that helps support families and seniors with housing, job searches, utilities, and of course, food. I learned about their on-site housing options for formerly homeless families as well as their efforts to utilize the emergency housing voucher program. While many of the residents they serve initially live and go to school in South County, we were told of their struggles to find apartments that accept their housing vouchers near their support network.

When we think about solutions to homelessness, it’s not enough to think of these scenarios as one city’s problem or one group’s solution. It’s imperative that in Orange County we learn as many best practices as possible, remove the red tape and barriers to connecting residents to services, and build a network of care that catches families and children before they fall through the cracks.

This summer provides more time for tours of programs, projects, parks and businesses. As a Director for the Orange County Transporation Agency, I’m required to learn about transportation projects across the county, including rail projects. This week, members of our team were briefed on the Serra Siding rail project in Dana Point. The environmental review process is underway for this passenger project. My office received the latest study on noise and will review over the next few weeks. We will monitor this project to ensure compatibility, sustainability given coastal erosion, and community concerns.

Be Well,

Katrina Foley
Supervisor
County of Orange

In This Edition

Read more about local events, community and health news, District and County initiatives, and other important updates!

OCTA

Join our next OCTA meeting at 9 am on July 11th.
Agenda and information can be found: HERE

Upcoming Board of Supervisors Meeting On June 19, 2022

Attend our 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 19, 2022 Board of Supervisors Meeting
View the Agenda: Here
See a list of our upcoming 2022 Board meetings: Here

Where are the Free Outdoor Movies and Summer Concerts
in Orange County?

Wild Rivers returns with ‘soft opening’ featuring thrilling new rides,
old favorites

2 new wildly contagious variants keeping Southern California
COVID cases high

Orange, San Bernardino Counties Planned Parenthoods see 133% more out-of-state appointments

Manuel Chavez

Constituent Services Manager – Representing Garden Grove and Santa Ana

I hope everyone had an amazing 4th of July Weekend!

This Friday, the Supervisor and I attended the Grand Opening of the American Ninja Warrior Adventure Park in the MainPlace Mall. This new 17,000 sq. ft. facility has a variety of American Ninja Warrior inspired coursed designed to challenge participants. We love this great addition to Orange County and congratulations to the City of Santa Ana for attracting the first American Ninja Warrior Adventure Park in America.

Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns: Manuel.Chavez@ocgov.com

Kalvin Alvarez

Constituent Services Manager – Representing Anaheim, Orange, Tustin, and Animal Services.

What a fantastic 4th of July weekend! Our office participated in the Mesa Del Mar neighborhood parade, where we distributed free cotton candy to the kids. Giving the kids a treat was a lot of fun. I hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day!

The Supervisor sponsored and we attended the Orange Chamber of Commerce's Board Installation and Dinner on Thursday! We enjoyed presenting certificates and recognizing the outstanding work of the County's oldest chamber of commerce—100 years! Congratulations to Chairman Al Ricci and Chairwoman Elect Alisa Driscoll on their respective election. With them at the helm, the Orange Chamber remains strong heading into the next 100 years!

Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns: Kalvin.Alvarez@ocgov.com

Stephanie Wade – Veterans Policy Advisor

Veterans are nearly twice as likely as their civilian counterparts to commit suicide. An average of 16.8 American veterans take their life daily. This coupled with the pandemic creates a perfect storm of increased military veteran suicide. Our Veterans Advisory team is searching for solutions. Chase Wikersham, a Vietnam veteran who was awarded the Silver Star and the Order of the Purple Heart, has been advocating on this issue since I became involved with county veterans issues five years ago. But who was listening? Well, Supervisor Foley listened. One of her first acts as a Supervisor was to create her own internal Veterans Advisory Team of which Chase is one of the most prominent members. After learning about this unresolved issue, she appointed him to the County’s Behavioral Health Advisory Board where he could speak directly to county Health Care Agency leaders, and then with the leadership of HCA behind her, the Supervisor helped approve the pilot program Chase proposed. The plan was approved in the budget passed by the Board on June 28, 2022. A county Request for Proposals has been issued and the vetting is underway to find qualified providers who will have a minimum budget of $500,000 and up to $4million to create a program that proactively reaches out to senior veterans who are socially isolated. I'm grateful for the work of Mr. Wikersham and Supervisor Foley. They listen and they act to ensure that veterans receive the supports that they earned.

Please reach out to me at Stephanie.Wade@ocgov.com

Health News

OC Health Press Release

To find a vaccine clinic in your community or learn more about COVID-19 testing, call (714) 834-2000.

Experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or any variants? Review the Quarantine Calculator: Here

As you celebrate summer activities and plan vacations, protect yourself and loved ones from COVID-19 by following safe travel guidelines issued by the CDPH.

See the latest guidance: Here

COVID-19 Data

As of July 6, 2022, 2,328,630 Orange County residents are fully vaccinated. The 7-day average positivity rate (7/1/22) in our County is 17%. This equals out to 34 daily positive COVID cases per 100k residents.

Community

OC Treasurer: Financial Tip of the Week

July Is Military Consumer Month By Carol A. Kand-Pineda

July is Military Consumer Month Whether you’re a new recruit, a servicemember PCS’ing with your family, or a soon-to-be veteran, the FTC wants to share some ways to steer clear of rip-offs and scammers.

If you’re preparing to leave the service, you might be looking at ways to make a living while you’re exploring new career options. Maybe you’ve arrived at a new duty station and your spouse is looking for work.

OC Animal Care

July is National #LostPetPreventionMonth. One in three pets will get lost at some point in their life. Without ID, 90% won’t make it home. A license tag provides a quick and accurate way to ensure their safety and increase the likelihood of a seamless return if your pet is lost: https://ocpetinfo.com/license

Second Harvest Food Bank

Second Harvest Food Bank is hosting their first-ever Walk to Feed OC on September 11th at Tanaka Farms in Irvine. This event is presented by Albertsons and will help raise awareness about food insecurity in Orange County. To join in the fundraising and walking efforts, sign up here: feedoc.org/walk

OC Workforce Solutions

Ready Set OC offers no-cost employment training for Orange County youth ages 14-24, including those with disabilities or IEP plans, former or current foster children, pregnant or parenting, offender/ex-offender, and those experiencing homelessness, including couch-surfing or at risk of homelessness.

To find out more information, call the OC Business and Economic Recovery Call Center at (714) 480-6500 or text (657) 210-1295. Email info@readysetoc.com

Orange County Public Library

Learn More

Equity in OC

Are you in charge of a grassroots organization? the Equity in OC initiative is releasing a POWER BUILDING FUND toprovide smaller, grassroots organizations with the opportunity to build their infrastructure and/or capacity

Learn More: Here