If you read the Orange County Register, you know about the plight of the homeless in Orange County, the tents along the Santa Ana River trail and the Santa Ana Civic Center, and the federal lawsuits to force our county and cities to do something. Seven years ago, Orange County adopted a 10-year plan [...]
Survival To provide and maintain a lifestyle that includes basic human needs - such as food, clothing and shelter seems like an easy task for most; however, to people who are homeless it maybe unattainable. When a homeless person does not have food and shelter, their world can come crashing down on them. Without [...]
Open Summer 2017, Orange County’s local homeless families have found welcome relief to their situations with HomeAid’s newly built Family Care Center, in the City of Orange, California. HomeAid Orange County is a Non Profit, founded in 1989 by the Building Industry Association of So. California. HomeAid Orange County’s Family Care Center will give [...]
Once every two years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) commissions a Point in Time (PIT) count of persons who are living on the streets and in shelters in each county of our country. The last Orange County PIT count was taken on January 24, 2015. On that night, the volunteers counted [...]
It is a pleasure to put a spotlight on Isaiah House, an organization that relies on the generosity of our community to help people who need assistance. The work of Isaiah House is provided under the guidance of Dwight and Leia Smith. They began volunteering at Isaiah House in 1993, and moved into the house [...]
The City of Santa Ana is working with Community Development Partners to transform an old Santa Ana motel into apartments for 71 families. This is Santa Ana's first permanent supportive housing project for individuals who are chronically homeless. Santa Ana will provide rent vouchers to those families totaling close to $1 million annually to make [...]
The Problem: Homelessness and Poverty Homelessness and poverty are widespread issues that, combined, affect millions of people nationwide, and hundreds of thousands of people in Orange County alone. On a single night in 2014, more than 575,000 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States—meaning they were sleeping outside or in an emergency shelter or [...]
Reason #1: You Feel a Sense of Duty This is why we started Volunteer Network OC: we believe that those who are more fortunate should help those who are less fortunate. You may have been blessed with a good family, a nice home, mental and physical health, the opportunity to receive a good education, etc. [...]
Wanda Witter On August 22 and 23, 2016, the Washington Post reported about 80-year old Wanda Witter. Ms. Witter was formerly a machinist in New York who manufactured turbine and engine parts. After she lost her job at Ingersoll Rand, she moved in with her daughter in Colorado, and began to plan [...]
James Brooks is a living inspiration. Once homeless himself, James now serves as Mercy House’s O.C. Programs Director, Emergency Services for individuals experiencing homelessness. In the process of launching our website, we approached Mercy House for assistance with a video project. We were looking to meet, speak with, and videotape some of the people in [...]
