Listen Live
Donate
 on air
    Schedule

    KCRW

    Read & Explore

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Culture
    • Events

    Listen

    • Live Radio
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Full Schedule

    Information

    • About
    • Careers
    • Help / FAQ
    • Newsletters
    • Contact

    Support

    • Become a Member
    • Become a VIP
    • Ways to Give
    • Shop
    • Member Perks

    Become a Member

    Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

    DonateGive Monthly

    Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

    Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
    Cookie Policy
    |FCC Public Files|

    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Year-long investigation into OC homeless shelters finds appalling conditions

    Remember that giant homeless encampment along the Santa Ana River last year? After officials cleared it out, many of the people who lived there ended up in nearby shelters in Santa Ana and Anaheim.

    • rss
    • apple-podcasts
    • spotify
    • Share
    By Madeleine Brand • Mar 14, 2019 • 1 min read

    Remember that giant homeless encampment along the Santa Ana River last year? After officials cleared it out, many of the people who lived there ended up in nearby shelters in Santa Ana and Anaheim. Today, the ACLU released a scathing report on three of them. It’s based on a year-long investigation that documented physical and sexual abuse of residents. The ACLU found filthy living conditions, bed bugs, lice, and cockroach infestations. One resident said, “jail is better than this shelter.”

    The full episode

    2 of 4
    Some OC homeless shelters are worse than jail, say residents
    1. 0:00Beto O’Rourke enters presidential race, but can he rise above the crowded field?
    2. 8:29Year-long investigation into OC homeless shelters finds appalling conditionsYou’re reading this
    3. 16:00In ‘Where Reasons End,’ conversations about life and death, and the danger of perfectionism
    4. 34:24‘Apollo 11’ features new footage of the 1969 moon landing mission
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michell Eloy

      Former Producer/Line Editor, Press Play

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Amy Ta

      Digital News & Culture Editor

    • KCRW placeholder

      Eve Garrow

      ACLU of Southern California

      NewsHomelessnessHousing & DevelopmentCalifornia

    The full episode

    2 of 4
    Some OC homeless shelters are worse than jail, say residents
    1. 0:00Beto O’Rourke enters presidential race, but can he rise above the crowded field?
    2. 8:29Year-long investigation into OC homeless shelters finds appalling conditionsYou’re reading this
    3. 16:00In ‘Where Reasons End,’ conversations about life and death, and the danger of perfectionism
    4. 34:24‘Apollo 11’ features new footage of the 1969 moon landing mission
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand