‘Orange County State of Homelessness Address’ Shines a Light on the Challenges and Opportunities to End Homelessness in OC
Elected officials and homelessness advocates addressed record-setting audience during event
Orange County, Calif. (January 31, 2025) – United to End Homelessness, an initiative empowered by Orange County United Way, hosted the “Orange County State of Homelessness Address” on January 29, 2025, highlighting the successes, challenges and priorities ahead to help end homelessness in the county. The virtual event, meant to prompt conversations and collective action, was attended by nearly 400 elected officials, civic leaders, housing advocates, and community members, marking the largest audience to-date for a United to End Homelessness event.
Panelists who spoke during the event included:
- Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, Second District Supervisor, Chair of the Commission to End Homelessness
- Supervisor Katrina Foley, Vice Chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Fifth District, Chair of the Orange County Housing Finance Trust
- Tim Shaw, 2024 Chair of the Orange County Continuum of Care Board
- Nichole Gideon, Chair of the Lived Experience Advisory Committee of the Continuum of Care Board
- Douglas Becht, Director of the Office of Care Coordination, County of Orange
Becks Heyhoe-Khalil, Executive Director of United to End Homelessness, moderated the event.
View the Orange County State of Homelessness address at: https://youtu.be/_puq7ZatYGg.
ABOUT UNITED TO END HOMELESSNESS
Launched in February 2018, United to End Homelessness is led by a diverse group of leaders from Orange County’s top business, philanthropic, governmental, faith-based and nonprofit organizations – all committed to ending homelessness in our community. Our work is grounded in bringing the recommendations of the 2017 UC Irvine study “Homelessness in Orange County: The Costs to Our Community” to life, with Orange County United Way serving as the backbone of this new collaborative effort. Together, we are working to bring the issue of homelessness to the forefront of the community’s collective discussion and create civic engagement that will lead to meaningful and lasting results. Together, we can and we will #EndHomelessnessOC.
For more information, please visit UnitedtoEndHomelessness.org.
ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY UNITED WAY
Orange County United Way is committed to breaking barriers and improving lives for everyone who lives here. Through our key initiatives—United for Student Success℠, United for Financial Security℠, and United to End Homelessness℠—we are working to ensure local students succeed, families gain financial security, and our unhoused neighbors find a place to call home. We also offer vital support via 2-1-1 Orange County (211OC), a key service that connects thousands of our most vulnerable residents with health and human service resources. We are committed to caring for one another. That’s #TheOCWay. Orange County United Way is a standalone, independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
To learn more or discover how you can help, visit UnitedWayOC.org.
Orange County United Way is a standalone, independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
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Media Contact: Heidi Pallares, hpallares@cornerstonecomms.com, (949) 285-7278
