Press Release from the Orange County Rescue MissionChairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors Bill Campbell, Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, County Superintendent of Schools William Habermehl, South Orange County Community College Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur, and Orange County Rescue Mission President Jim Palmer, have joined forces as the Co-Chairman of OperationOC. Co-Chairman Palmer believes that
OperationOC is especially positioned to lead a campaign to challenge churches, faith-based organizations, shelters, and other service providers in Orange County to get involved in long-term care and strategies needed to help the first 100 families who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina arrive in Orange County.
As of September 6th, OperationOC is launching a $2.6 million campaign to rescue the victims of Hurricane Katrina, in partnership with dozens of Orange County public and private organizations, city government, churches, service clubs and private individuals.
Already, an Operation OC advance team is in Amarillo and Dallas, Texas, connecting with potential families who would be traveling to Orange County for assistance.
The critical challenge, beyond the immediate need for housing, food, and water, will be to reduce the further risk of disaster in these victim’s lives, by responding with long-term transitional housing and life needs, ongoing food, clothing, healthcare, job opportunities and mental health services.
To help expedite the availability of housing, the Orange County Rescue Mission will be accelerating the completion of the residential section of their nationally recognized, comprehensive
Village of Hope project on Tustin Legacy, the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Base. The Village of Hope will still need to complete their vocational classrooms, medical clinic, dining facility, child development center, offices, warehouse and parking. Because of this need, OperationOC partner, Bob Kopecky, provost of Advanced Technology & Education Park of the South Orange County Community College District, has agreed that they will provide the use of their nearby dining facility and parking. Additionally, OperationOC is looking for sponsors to provide two and three bedroom apartments for displaced Hurricane Katrina families. The Orange County Rescue Mission, Second Harvest Food Bank, Infolink Orange County 2-1-1, County of Orange, Orange County Sheriffs Department, HomeAid Orange County, Calvary Church of Santa Ana, have all joined OperationOC as partners, and will be assisting in the provision of food and supplies.
OperationOC is prepared to immediately utilize the time-tested
Strong Beginnings program, the Orange County Rescue Mission’s strategic, case-management based outreach program which provides long-term solutions to permanent housing for homeless families living in poverty motels.
Strong Beginnings, through the assistance of the Children and Families Commission of Orange County, has had great success in helping hundreds of Orange County families end homelessness and is prepared to apply the same three-tiered process of prevention/emergency assistance, stabilization and transition to bring hope to at least 100 families who have faced tragedy and loss because of Hurricane Katrina.
It is the intent of OperationOC to challenge Orange County public and private organizations, churches, service clubs and individuals to pool their resources and join them in the effort to respond to the needs of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Please contact OperationOC at
1-800-956-1613 (California Only)
http://www.operationoc.org/ and
http://www.operationoc.com/
