Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva has made addressing homelessness a priority throughout her legislative career, supporting emergency shelters, bridge housing and transitional housing programs intended to help people move from the streets into more stable housing.

Her efforts have included legislation to address barriers to emergency shelter development, state funding for a North Orange County shelter and support for regional programs coordinating public resources and outreach services.

One of her legislative accomplishments was Assembly Bill 139, known as the Emergency and Transitional Housing Act of 2019. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law on September 26, 2019.

AB 139 amended California’s housing-element requirements, which require cities and counties to plan for their communities’ housing needs. The law changed how local governments assess the need for emergency shelters, requiring consideration of the most recent homeless point-in-time count, available year-round and seasonal shelter beds, unused beds and the percentage of shelter residents who move into permanent housing.

The law also established limits on certain local requirements for emergency shelters. For example, cities may require sufficient parking to accommodate shelter staff, but cannot impose more parking requirements than those applied to other residential or commercial uses in the same zone. Local governments also cannot require emergency shelters to be more than 300 feet apart.

AB 139 amended existing shelter-planning and permitting requirements; it did not create the state’s broader policy allowing emergency shelters by right in designated zones.

In September 2018, Quirk-Silva secured $5 million from the state budget’s Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to expand bed capacity and support services at Bridges at Kraemer Place in Anaheim.
The facility, which opened in 2017, provides emergency shelter and supportive services for adults experiencing homelessness in North Orange County. People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) operates it under a contract with Orange County. Services emphasize stabilization, permanent housing placements and helping participants reintegrate into the community.

In Fullerton, Quirk-Silva has also supported regional efforts to coordinate homeless outreach through the Homeless Outreach and Proactive Engagement (HOPE) Center.

The center opened in October 2022 near St. Jude Medical Center and serves as a regional coordination hub for homelessness services in North Orange County. It is a project of the North Orange County Public Safety Collaborative, a partnership involving 11 cities, including Fullerton, along with the County of Orange.

Rather than operating as a shelter, the HOPE Center coordinates mobile outreach teams that include social workers, mental health professionals, homeless outreach providers and homeless liaison officers. The teams respond to calls and connect people experiencing homelessness with services addressing medical, mental health, addiction and housing needs.
At the center’s opening, Quirk-Silva praised the regional collaboration and thanked state Sen. Josh Newman for supporting the project. She said coordinated efforts were important to improving access to services, shelter beds and treatment.

On April 28, 2023, Quirk-Silva and Assembly Speaker-designate Robert Rivas toured the HOPE Center to learn more about Orange County’s homelessness and housing resources. The visit focused on understanding the range of services available and addressing the causes of homelessness through a coordinated approach.

Quirk-Silva also introduced Assembly Bill 816 in 2019, proposing a California Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool Program. The legislation would have created a state-administered grant program to help local governments and other eligible applicants fund rental assistance, housing subsidies and services for people experiencing homelessness.

The proposal also encouraged local governments to combine resources from health care, criminal justice, child welfare and emergency response systems to support housing programs.

However, AB 816 did not become law. The bill was filed with the Assembly chief clerk under Joint Rule 56 in February 2020 after failing to advance through the legislative process.

Another regional effort was the Orange County Housing Finance Trust. Quirk-Silva and Assemblymember Tom Daly jointly authored AB 448, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed in September 2018.

The legislation authorized Orange County and its cities to establish a joint powers authority to combine resources and pursue funding for affordable and supportive housing. The trust was created to help finance housing for people experiencing homelessness and residents with limited incomes. The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved the trust’s joint powers agreement in March 2019.

Before entering the state Legislature, she became involved in addressing homelessness while serving on the Fullerton City Council. In an August 2023 Assembly floor speech, she recalled the 2011 death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man with mental illness who was beaten to death by Fullerton police officers. Quirk-Silva said seeing his death propelled her to work toward solutions to homelessness.

Her commitment was further affected by the death of her brother, Billy. He struggled with alcoholism and experienced homelessness before dying in October 2018 after being struck by a truck while riding his bicycle in Buena Park.

In her public statements, Quirk-Silva has described homelessness as a complex problem requiring more than emergency shelter beds, including access to supportive services and permanent housing.

New Regional HOPE Center Opens