SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Rising unemployment and soaring rents are driving Orange County's poor into shelters and hotels.
There are an average of 27,947 homeless people in Orange County on any given night, up nearly 21 percent from 2002, and most of them -- 19,563 -- are in families with children, according to statistics compiled by shelters and social service agencies.
"We're seeing, more than anything, a lot of working poor families making minimum wage, $10, $11, $12 an hour," said Janine Ingram of the Shelter, Hunger and Health Partnership. "Then if you figure in child care, it's insurmountable.
"We have more people that are in fact working but can't make enough to live in this housing market."
Unemployment has risen to 3.9 percent and the average apartment rent in Orange County is more than $1,200 a month.
"We have people working two jobs, who are barely making payments on their apartment," said Veronica Arias of Catholic Charities Outreach.
"The absolute fear, the desperation, is the worst since I've been working in this industry," said Larry Haynes, executive director of Mercy House, which operates four shelters and provides homeless services in Orange County.
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