I often hear the phrase, ‘Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.’
As much as I appreciate this concept of empowerment, I have found that is can be flawed when applied to certain populations because there is a large community of marginalized people groups that do not even have access to the pond, so to speak.
The Orange County Rescue Mission intentionally takes additional steps to extend resources, referrals and education to our clients to make sure that they do have access to that pond where they can sustain themselves for the rest of their life with the valuable skills we seek to equip them with, at any point we encounter them.
The hope of serving a client and expecting him or her to refuse a life on the streets in addiction and despair is unrealistic when they are defeated and weighed down by past issues, one potentially being family, debt or criminal legal issues.
This is why our partnership with Trinity Law School is a vital piece to our program at the Rescue Mission. Trinity Law students provide pro bono work for both our residents living on our campus and to those we serve on the streets with our mobile legal clinic.
Watch this video to learn more about this outstanding program.

Click here to watch this video.