Thank you to this Orange County community member for their wise words on the state of homelessness in Orange County.
It is encouraging and refreshing to hear others recognize and appreciate the work we are striving to do here at Orange County Rescue Mission. It is a sign to me that the importance of giving a hand up, instead of a handout, is making an impact in our community. Homelessness and poverty are issues that the government has spent decades trying to solve, with minimal results. Thank you for taking notice of the Rescue Mission’s different approach to tackling the issue of homelessness and sharing your thoughts on the matter.
In the upcoming weeks, I will be sharing the findings of an extensive study that reviewed best practices for helping the homeless, from throughout the United States.
But for now, please take a look at the Register editorial piece here:
Editorial
By ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER EDITORIAL BOARD
Helping those who help others
According to a recent report in the Register, the Orange County Rescue Mission is in dire need of donations.“A decline in donations of canned and boxed food items since the holidays has been so severe, the nonprofit is cutting in half the number of monthly food boxes it hopes to provide in the near future to homeless and other needy families, from 800 down to 400,” the Register noted.
The Christmas season is a reminder for many of us of the importance of giving, but we should also remember that for the folks at the Rescue Mission, the giving continues daily throughout the year.
The organization serves, on average, 3,165 meals a day, totaling over 1 million meals a year, and the faith-based organization, operating since 1963, is entirely financed by private donations. Eighty-one cents of every dollar goes directly to helping those in need. It’s the sort of the place that should be held up as a model. An organization doing right by people with support from their community, not through government one-size-fits-all programs.
After 53 years of the federal government’s “war on poverty,” we have seemingly little to show for it. But government has a strange way of measuring success, where increases in the welfare rolls are seen as an achievement, rather than focusing on boosting the numbers of those who no longer need a handout. Helping those in need isn’t a government problem. It’s a problem for all of us, and the Orange County Rescue Mission is playing an important part in our community.
Of particular need are “5-ounce cans of meat and tuna; 15-ounce cans of soup, vegetables, fruits and beans; 18-ounce jars of peanut butter and 24-ounce jars of spaghetti sauce,” the Register noted. In addition, “6-ounce boxes of rice and mashed potatoes; 7.5-ounce boxes of macaroni and cheese and 15-ounce bags of dry pasta” are also needed.
Food donations can be dropped off at the Orange County Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope at 1 Hope Drive in Tustin, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Online orders can be sent to the OCRM Donation Warehouse, c/o Mike Martinez, 1 Hope Drive, Tustin, CA 92782. For more information on donations, or to find other ways to help, call 714-247-4303 or email info@rescuemission.org.
Giving online is easy, safe, and quick. Your donation will make an immediate impact to provide meals, shelter and services for a homeless family in desperate need of a hand up to self-sufficiency.
