7^th Annual Essentials for Young Lives Donation Drive Delivers

Orange County Campaign Collects over 1.2 Million Essential Items for Homeless Families

May 29, 2014 (Irvine, CA) – Today HomeAid Orange County, in partnership with the Children and Families Commission of Orange County, delivered over 1.2 million essential items to 17 facilities serving homeless families with children.  The 7^th Annual Essentials for Young Lives donation drive was the most successful drive in HomeAid Orange County history, surpassing the 2013 drive by almost 200,000 items!

“We are absolutely thrilled with the results of this year’s Essentials campaign.  It is the compassion and support of the community that continues to make this donation drive so successful,” said Scott Larson, Executive Director of HomeAid Orange County.  “Families represent the highest percentage of those living in shelters throughout Orange County, and being able to provide over 1.2 million essential items, the majority of which are diapers, to support them is incredible.  We would especially like to thank our corporate sponsors, The Vons Foundation, UPS, and the Automobile Club of Southern California for their support of this campaign.  Our partners understand how important this donation drive is for homeless mothers and their children in our community.”

The items collected through the Essentials campaign will be distributed to transitional housing facilities that were built with the assistance of HomeAid Orange County.  These diapers and other essential items that were donated enable recipient agencies to save the funds normally spent on baby supplies for use on programs that help their clients achieve self-sufficiency and lead productive, independent lives. 

“The Commission’s 13-year partnership with HomeAid Orange County has successfully increased the capacity at shelters ensuring that children have a safe and secure place to live,” said Sandra Barry, chair of the Children and Families Commission of Orange County. “The Essentials campaign has alleviated the burden on homeless mothers to purchase diapers and allows them to focus on parenting.”

The Orange County Essentials for Young Lives campaign was first launched in 2008 and has collected over 3.4 million essential baby items.  The donations collected go directly to meet the critical needs of homeless children and families in Orange County. 

“I am humbled to see that our community, once again, showed enormous generosity to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in our community,” said Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, Honorary Chair.  “It has truly been a privilege for the men and women of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to participate in the Essentials for Young Lives donation drive.  We see every day how important transitional housing can be to so many Orange County families.  By joining with HomeAid and the Children and Families Commission on the Essentials drive and helping to support our homeless families, we know that we can remove some stress and anxiety that comes with a temporary living situation.”

For more information, please visit http://www.homeaidessentials.org.

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HomeAid Orange County

HomeAid Orange County is the founding chapter of a national non-profit organization with the vision and purpose to end homelessness.  Through its mission of building new lives for homeless families and individuals through housing and community outreach, HomeAid, develops housing, advocates and provides service in the community to the homeless.

Since 1989, HomeAid Orange County – founded by the Building Industry Association of Southern California's Orange County Chapter, has developed 50 shelters, adding more than 1,000 shelter beds throughout Orange County.  HomeAid acts as the housing developer and liaison between services providers, community volunteers, builders and specialty contractors. Tragically thousands are still in need of shelter each and every day.  To help solve this social crisis, new housing developments are being planned and constructed throughout Orange County.For more information, please visit www.homeaidoc.org.​

Children and Families Commission of Orange County

The Children and Families Commission of Orange County oversees the allocation of funds from Proposition 10, which added a 50-cent tax on tobacco products sold in California. Funds help pay for education, health care and child development programs for children from birth to five and their families.  The Commission’s goal is to ensure all children are healthy and ready to learn when they enter school. For more information, please visit www.occhildrenandfamilies.com.

HOMEAID ORANGE COUNTY TO CELEBRATE ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY WITH DEDICATION OF ITS 50TH HOMELESS SHELTER

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony on May 20^th to Mark Final Expansion

Of Pathways of Hope Campus in Fullerton

Fullerton, CA, -- On May 20^th, HomeAid Orange County will celebrate two significant milestones: the 25^th anniversary of its efforts to end homelessness through advocacy, development and service in Orange County and the completion of its 50^th homeless shelter. The occasion will be commemorated with a ribbon-cutting at 11:30 a.m. at 504-506 West Amerige Avenue in Fullerton, which is operated by the nonprofit organization Pathways of Hope.

This latest HomeAid project, built by Shea Homes, completes the Pathways of Hope campus, which now accommodates up to 82 parents and their children. The new addition features two apartment buildings that each encompass four residential units, including studio, two- and three-bedroom configurations, which will house up to 36 residents. This comes on top of 1,054 beds in HomeAid shelters that have provided accommodations to more than 50,000 people who have found themselves homeless since 1989.

Bert Silva, president of Builder Captain Shea Homes, commented, “Our partnership with HomeAid and Pathways of Hope brings together three great organizations that are dedicated to supporting and enriching our local communities. We are honored to be a part of this important effort, providing interim housing when it is needed the most, because caring about the people in our community is always first on our list of priorities.”

“This latest expansion of Pathways of Hope will enable us to continue providing the assistance that has already served more than 1,025 Orange County families since the first home on the campus was opened in 1986,” said Barbara Jennings, President of the Board of Directors for Pathways of Hope. “Every step of the way, HomeAid Orange County has been a valuable partner, helping us develop, renovate and maintain the campus, which has become a significant resource for services that benefit the homeless community.”

“Developments like these play a key role in ending the cycle of homelessness,” stated Scott Larson, executive director of HomeAid Orange County. “HomeAid is  proud to bring together the resources of the local homebuilding industry to help organizations like Pathways of Hope provide both housing and services to the homeless community in Orange County, and we are grateful to the participation of Shea Homes and our many other builder members, who have made HomeAid a remarkable success.”

About HomeAid Orange County

HomeAid Orange County is the founding chapter of a national nonprofit organization with the purpose to end homelessness through advocacy, development and service. Through their mission to build new lives for homeless families and individuals through housing and community outreach.  Founded in 1989 by the Orange County Chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, HomeAid acts as the housing developer and liaison between services providers, community volunteers, builders and specialty contractors.

To date the organization has completed 50 developments that serve victims of domestic violence, pregnant homeless women, abused and abandoned children, homeless adults living with HIV/AIDS and homeless families. For more information, please visit www.homeaidoc.org.

About Pathways of Hope

For nearly 40 years, the goal of Pathways of Hope has been to place families and individuals into permanent housing as quickly as possible. Its Prevention and Outreach programs (such as grocery, rental assistance and friendship program) help to strengthen households and prevent homelessness. Its Housing programs (Via Esperanza, New Vista, ISN, Interim Housing and rapid re-housing) provide several options that are tailored to ending homelessness one household at a time.

The nonprofit organization’s newest Interim Housing program offers an option to families who are making the incredible leap from the crisis of homelessness to the security of long-term housing stability. This program provides apartments for families who need additional time to complete milestones that will lead to greater long-term stability. These milestones may include completing school or a vocational program and addressing poor credit history. During this time, participants have access to the services offered at the New Vista campus while also being responsible for their own housing costs. Services include career development, budgeting, counseling and case management that allows participants to focus on long-term change in a supportive environment.

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