New Santa Ana | Category Archives: homeless

Christmas day pancake breakfast celebration and laundry day for the homeless

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Charities, Entertainment, Food, homeless, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Operation Warm Wishes Christmas Day Breakfast

Operation Warm Wishes Presents: The Gift of Giving – Christmas Pancake Breakfast Celebration and Laundry Day for the Homeless and Families in Need.

By: TyRon Jackson

We are taking over a local Laundromat in Orange County California (Good Choice Laundry-1620 East 1st Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701) to serve the homeless and families in need in a very special way on Christmas.

We are doing the laundry of the homeless and families in need for Free on Christmas Morning, as well as serving a FREE All You Can Eat Christmas Pancake Breakfast. With Christmas Gifts for everyone and toys for children in need! No one will be turned away!

It’s going be a beautiful morning of love and Christmas! Join us! Continue reading→

2015 point in time count of the Orange County homeless set for January 24

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Entertainment, homeless, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

2015 Point in Time Count of the Homeless

By Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett

A worthwhile event is being planned for late January 2015 that will significantly impact the future of many homeless families and individuals residing in Orange County. Every two years, the County of Orange and its non-profit partners conduct a single day count of the County’s sheltered and unsheltered homeless population. The January 2013 count process determined that approximately 12,700 people become homeless in Orange County over the course of a year.

This project is undertaken to preserve over $16 million in annual federal funding for homeless programs and services. The project also serves as a means for leveraging additional funding from other government and private sources for needed homeless services and provides data to inform decision making on better service planning and delivery including Orange County’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. Continue reading→

Holiday Carnival set for Dec. 13 in Santa Ana

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Charities, Churches and Religion, Entertainment, Food, homeless, Santa Ana, Youth Activities Leave a comment

The Illumination Foundation is holding a Holiday Carnival for the families in Santa Ana on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014, from 9 am to 4 pm, at 1215 N. Ross St. in Santa Ana. Santa Ana’s Newsong/10Ten Church will be feeding the families with a potluck! Sign ups are on Doodle.

The Illumnination Foundation is looking for energetic individuals and volunteer groups to help run the kids’ crafts/activities during this festive event. If you are interested in volunteering or helping with the unwrapped toy & gift card collection drive, please contact Sinae at sbang@ifhomeless.org. Continue reading→

The OC Supervisors are moving forward with the homeless shelter on Normandy Place

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in homeless, Janet Nguyen, Lou Correa, Orange County, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 6 Comments

Photo by: Andrew Galvin

The Orange County Board of Supervisors is apparently going to ignore the Santa Ana City Council’s attempt to place a moratorium on the building of a homeless shelter in the middle of a poor Latino neighborhood on the East side, on Normandy Place.

The agenda for the Board of Supervisors meeting on Nov. 18, 2014, includes this item:

Direct staff to move forward with 1217 E. Normandy Place, Santa Ana, CA project; accept grant deed document to transfer fee title to County of Orange; and authorize Chief Real Estate Officer or designee to sign related documents, make minor modifications under certain conditions and perform related actions – District 1.

Continue reading→

Alvarez may run for the First Supervisorial District but Solorio won’t

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2015 Elections, Chris Phan, Claudia Alvarez, homeless, Jose Solorio, Lou Correa, Orange County, Santa Ana 7 Comments

“Claudia Alvarez, a trustee with the Rancho Santiago Community College District, says she is “strongly considering” a run,” according to the O.C. Register.

Alvarez, a Deputy District Attorney, spent several years on the Santa Ana City Council. When she termed out she won a seat on the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Education.

The O.C. Register also reported that Jose Solorio, who just lost badly to Supervisor Janet Nguyen in the General Election race for the 34th State Senate District, is not going to run for Nguyen’s seat on the O.C. Board of Supervisors. Continue reading→

Free Thanksgiving Day dinner for all, including the homeless, set for 11/27 in Tustin

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Charities, Food, homeless, Tustin Leave a comment

We are excited about another year of helping and serving families in need on Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day. This year’s Unity in the Community Thanksgiving Spectacular is sure to be Spectacular!

Thanksgiving is a time to be with family, to remember the year that has passed and to be thankful for what we have been given. Thanksgiving is also a time to remember those less fortunate, the needy, the forgotten, and the homeless.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2014, from Noon until 5:00 PM Operation Warm Wishes, will host and serve FREE ALL YOU CAN EAT-Thanksgiving dinner, with all the trimmings, to families in need, senior citizens, troubled youth, the homeless, those suffering from various illnesses and all in need. This is going to be an amazing event all to help those in need. No one will be turned away! Continue reading→

Recap of tonight’s Santa Ana City Council meeting – mosquitoes, homeless and Lou Correa

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Lou Correa, Orange County Vector Control District, Santa Ana 35 Comments

The OC Vector Control District tries to explain themselves

Jared Dever, the Director of Communications for the OC Vector Control District, showed up at tonight’s Santa Ana City Council meeting to explain why his agency tried to spray an insecticide on homes in Santa Ana’s inner city neighborhoods a few weeks ago.

Santa Ana Council Members Michele Martinez and David Benavides spoke up and asked that Dever and the OCVCD learn from this episode. That is because this mosquito spraying decision blew up in everyone’s face.

When we posted about the mosquito spraying, which was announced on a Friday and was supposed to happen the following Monday, the post went viral on Facebook and because I posted the email addresses of the City Council members they each received hundreds of emails from angry residents.

What to do about the proposed Santa Ana Homeless Shelter Continue reading→

OC Coronor seeks help in locating next of kin of dead man found in Santa Ana

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, homeless, Santa Ana, Vietnamese Leave a comment

NEWS, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Lt. Jeff Hallock, 714.904.7042, JHallock@ocsd.org/Emily Osterberg, 714.647.1840, EOsterberg@ocsd.org

Orange County Coroner Seeks Public’s Assistance in Locating Next of Kin

SANTA ANA, Calif. – (October 14, 2014) – The Orange County Sheriff’s Coroner Division is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying and locating possible next-of-kin for an unidentified male found on May 29, 2014 in the city of Santa Ana.

At the time of death, the deceased used the name Lam Pham with a date of birth of March 10, 1963. He is an Asian male with a thin build, approximately 51 years of age, 5’ 8”, 99 lbs. with short black hair and brown eyes. It’s believed that he lived a transient lifestyle since 1996. An actual photo can be viewed on OCSD.org under Coroner and Unidentified Dead. Continue reading→

Homeless man arrested for assaulting a female real estate agent

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, homeless, Orange County, Real Estate Leave a comment

NEWS, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Lt. Jeff Hallock, 714.904.7042, JHallock@ocsd.org/Emily Osterberg, 714.647.1840, EOsterberg@ocsd.org

Suspect Arrested for Assault on Real Estate Agent

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. – (October 12, 2014) – On Sunday, October 12, 2014, Orange County Sheriff’s deputies arrested John Thomas Glenn, 23, Laguna Niguel (transient), in connection with a physical assault of a real estate agent yesterday. Glenn was arrested by deputies in the area of Crown Valley Parkway and Niguel Road as he walked out of a nearby park.

On Saturday, October 11, 2014 at approximately 1:00 p.m., Glenn is accused of physically assaulting a 55 year old, female real estate agent as she accessed a lock box on the front door of a Laguna Niguel home. Glenn approached the female victim, placed her in a chokehold and punched her several times causing her to begin losing consciousness. He fled the immediate area and subsequently became engaged in a physical altercation with a neighbor who heard the commotion, before fleeing the area on foot. An intense search ensued utilizing patrol deputies, air support and bloodhounds; however, Glenn could not be located. Continue reading→

The OC Vector Control District will be promoting spraying at Tuesday’s City Council meeting

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Health and Medical, homeless, Orange County Vector Control District, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Standing water at the Santa Ana City Hall

Just when you thought the threat of the Orange County Vector Control District spraying chemicals on our homes here in Santa Ana was over, the OCVCD is scheduled to make a presentation to the Santa Ana City Council at tomorrow night’s City Council meeting, set for Oct. 7, 2014, at 7 pm, at the Council’s Chambers.

The OCVCD recently made headlines again when they proposed spending a million dollars on an exhibit about mosquitoes at the Discovery Center in Santa Ana.

However as we have disclosed in recent articles the West Nile Virus problem in Santa Ana is almost entirely focused on the homeless population. The homeless sleep outside and as such are more exposed to mosquitoes than the rest of us. As such spraying our homes is senseless and most likely is just engineered to scare us into allowing the OCVCD to raise our property taxes again. It is a tax heist. Continue reading→

Opponents of the proposed Santa Ana homeless shelter to speak out at Tuesday’s City Council meeting

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 4 Comments

1217 Normandy Place, Santa Ana

It looks like Santa Ana Councilman Vince Sarmiento finally is doing something about the homeless shelter the County of Orange is trying to locate at 1217 Normandy Place, in Santa Ana, as we reported earlier. Sarmiento placed an item on the agenda for this week’s City Council meeting regarding the shelter:

DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED HOMELESS SHELTER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY’S EMERGENCY SHELTER ORDINANCE, MORATORIUM, AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESEARCH ALTERNATIVE SHELTER SITES {Strategic Plan No. 3, 3} – Councilmember Sarmiento)

The site of the homeless shelter is less than 1,000 feet from a public school, Kennedy Elementary School, and Madison Park. The nearest homes to the shelter site are the densely populated Cornerstone Village apartments at Minnie Street and McFadden, which are home to many immigrant families, according to the OC Weekly. Continue reading→

OC Rescue Mission launches specialty coffee brand and shop to help the homeless

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Charities, Coffee, homeless, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Contact: Corynne Randel/Jenn Quader, Brower, Miller & Cole, (949) 955-7940

ORANGE COUNTY RESCUE MISSION LAUNCHES SPECIALTY COFFEE BRAND AND SHOP TO HELP HOMELESS

A special crowdfunding campaign has been established to raise the $100,000 needed to fund this endeavor, with more than $26,000 already raised over the past six days.

Orange County, Calif. (September 25, 2014) – The Orange County Rescue Mission in partnership with the Inland Empire Rescue Mission is taking the art of coffee to whole new level, launching its very own brand of specialty coffee with a cause, Restoration Roasters. Continue reading→

Why didn’t the OC Vector Control District focus on the homeless in the first place?

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Disease, Health and Medical, homeless, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Public Safety, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Homeless

The Orange County Vector Control District has put the spraying of insecticides in Santa Ana on hold due to the ongoing hot weather, as reported on their website.

They are picking on Santa Ana because our city has allegedly had 40 West Nile Virus infections, which is the highest number of infections of any city in the county, according to county data.

But hold on a minute – it turns out that the reason we have had more West Nile Virus infections is not our population at large but rather one specific demographic – the homeless. Continue reading→

Sarmiento and Nguyen MIA as residents oppose a homeless shelter in Santa Ana

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Entertainment, homeless, Janet Nguyen, John Palacio, Neighborhood Associations, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

1217 Normandy Place, Santa Ana

Santa Ana is part of the First District of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and our elected representative is Janet Nguyen, who currently is preoccupied with running for the 34th State Senate District. So preoccupied apparently that she has blown off, repeatedly, the Santa Ana residents and business owners who are fighting the O.C. Supervisors’ decision to open up a huge homeless shelter at 1217 Normandy Place, in Santa Ana.

Nguyen isn’t the only local politician who has been MIA on this issue. Santa Ana Councilman Vince Sarmiento represents that area and one of the ladies who is fighting the shelter, Dora Lopez, tells me that he too has refused to meet with local residents and business owners. This is the same useless Sarmiento that pulled papers to run for Mayor but thankfully withdrew from that race.

The OC Board of Supervisors approved the $3.6-million purchase of the 23,220-square-foot industrial warehouse at 1217 Normandy Place back on July 15,2014, according to the L.A. Times. Continue reading→

OC Supervisors approve plan to build a year-round homeless shelter in Santa Ana

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in homeless, Housing, Orange County, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan Tuesday to spend $3.6 million for a Santa Ana warehouse that will be converted into a year-round shelter, according to the OC Weekly.

The 23,000-square-foot, 200-bed emergency center is planned to include a multi-service center for homeless families and individuals. The county will operate the shelter through a provider and offer services to assist individuals to assimilate into the workforce. Services will include mental and public health services, assistance for veterans and housing needs. The county will work with local resource groups to provide help, according to the O.C. Register. Continue reading→