My husband threw me out of the house the day I found out I was pregnant with our fifth child. He was addicted to meth, and it just tore our life apart. I’d been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years raising our kids when I gave birth to Noah just before Christmas 2005. It was the first time my husband hadn’t been there for a birth of his child.

I came home from the hospital on Christmas night. It was just me, my newborn son, and three young children. I was in so much pain from the C-section, I could barely walk. That was my worst Christmas ever.

I had given up my career to raise our kids. I was able to find work as a waitress until I slipped and fell and injured my shoulder. In the next 90 days, I lost my job, my income, and was evicted because I couldn’t pay rent.

I used to have a normal life like everyone else: husband, family, nice home, good church. Nothing fancy. It’s not that I didn’t think this could happen to me; I knew it would never happen to me. I never thought I could lose it all so quickly.

Here at the House of Hope, I know God is in charge and I am gradually getting my life back. Being here gave me a chance to get away from the financial pressures and concentrate on being a mom to Noah and Tara. The House of Hope gives you so many tools I never had before, and so much reassurance. Now I’m starting to create a life I never could have created after my marriage fell apart.

I’m looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me next.

From November 9 through November 25, a large contingent of volunteers, donors and community-minded businesses pooled their resources and turned hunger into hope for hundreds of homeless Orange County families. The Orange County Rescue Mission provided grocery bags (distributed through the Sunday newspaper) which those who were inclined could fill with non-perishable food and deliver to a number of predesignated drop-off points.

In addition to the newspaper distribution, three Ralph's stores (Chapman Ave., Orange; Adams Ave., Huntington Beach; Harvard Ave., Irvine) agreed to advertise the food drive by using the bags to package groceries. Also, four Orange County church groups (Capo Beach Calvary, Grace Fellowship, Harvest Community and Voyagers Bible) distributed bags to and through their congregations. All of the above, including Whole Foods (the District, Tustin), SportClips (Fountain Valley) and Peets Coffee and Tea (the District, Tustin) participated by making their facilities available for drop-off points.

The response from the community was outstanding, and very timely. It was during this critical period, our food supply already low, when OperationOC, the disaster-response arm of OCRM, was reactivated and was called upon to supply food boxes to victims of the November “Triangle Fires.” Without the generous support of those who participated in our Turn Hunger into Hope campaign, this would not have been possible.

In all, a total of 32,113 pounds of food was donated for which we are extremely grateful. However, in order to satisfy the incessant demand for food, we must conduct a minimum of four of these same campaigns each year. With your help, we can continue to come to the assistance of those in need.

Thank you for your faithful support!

When you’re living on the streets, Christmas can be the worst day of the year. Unless you’ve been there yourself, you can’t imagine how much a hot meal, a friendly smile and the words. “God bless you!” can mean to someone who has nothing at Christmas.

Young children aren’t responsible for the circumstances that lead them to the streets or send them to a shelter at Christmas, but they pay the highest price of all. The gifts and meals you provide a child may change his or her life forever.

Generous people like you know that the joy of Christmas comes from giving to others! A life-changing Christmas can begin for as little as $1.48 per person! Please send a special Christmas gift today to let hungry and hurting people in Orange County know that in the season of love, joy and peace, they have not been forgotten!

On the day before Thanksgiving, 300 Cheesecake Factory staff members converged on the cafeteria at the Village of Hope to volunteer their time and talents to bless VOH students and their families, patients of our medical clinic and their families, and Olive Crest residents. They accomplished six hours of decorations (including banners and artwork), custom kitchen set-up and food preparation for the big event. The next day, Thanksgiving day, there were Cheesecake Factory hosts, hostesses, table servers, busboys, cooks and chefs hard at work doing what they do best — serving up a great meal! From 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., they worked tirelessly to serve a top-notch feast (including dessert, of course) fit for the most discriminating tastes.

In the end, 350 meals and a gift bag for everyone were used to demonstrate God's love to the Least, the Last and the Lost of Orange County.

Thank you to The Cheesecake Factory!

My father wasn’t there when I was a child. The first time I ever met him was just a few months before Christmas when I was 13 years old. That Christmas, he gave me a present — the first gift he ever gave to me. It was a stack of thirteen Christmas cards, one for every year of my life he had missed. At the time, I thought, “Whatever.”

He had denied me for so many years, and I was hurting a lot. But now that I’m here at the Village of Hope, I’m trying to work on my relationship with him. I think about those cards a lot now. God is working on both of us, I know that much.

OperationOC activated on November 15, 2008 for the November 2008 Freeway Complex Fire. On November 18, OperationOC sent a mobile recovery team to the Local Assistance Center (LAC) in Anaheim. OperationOC partnered with Hope Force International, 211 Orange County, and Working Wardrobes.

Between 11-18-2008 and 12-2-2008 OperationOC has served 419 fire victims comprising 192 households. Direct recovery services included: fire victim case management; food boxes; hygiene supplies; gift cards for gas, grocery, restaurants and Target; telephone cards; referrals to other service providers; and emotional and spiritual care.

Sixty-nine OperationOC staff and volunteers were involved in coordinating the services provided at the LAC and at the OperationOC Headquarters in Tustin. These sixty-nine staff and volunteers provided 1,246 hours between 11-15-2008 and 11-30-2008.

OperationOC will continue to provide resources and service through its Tustin Facility until all fire victims have attained a stable status. OperationOC will continue to seek support to provide fire victim case management; food boxes; hygiene supplies; gift cards for gas, grocery, restaurants and Target; telephone cards; referrals to other service providers; and emotional and spiritual care.

Additional information is available at the OperationOC Web site or by calling 714-247-4360.

For 20 years, alcohol was in control of my life. I’m 38 now, and got drunk nearly every day. I wanted to change my life, so I hit rock bottom on purpose. I was camping at the Santa Ana Civic Center, and detoxing so bad even the other homeless guys said I needed to get help. A guy named Mike gave me the Mission’s phone number.

Two weeks before I came here, I was in the hospital for an alcoholic seizure. They had me on 5150 watch*. I still was shaking after three weeks of sobriety. Over the years, my alcoholism affected all my relationships and my career more and more. Nobody wants to be with a drunk.

I don’t really celebrate Christmas. It doesn’t mean much to me anymore. I rode up to the Mission on a bicycle. I’ve been to rehab before, but this place is different. I’m finding a new way of life here. It’s keeping me busy and accountable. I’m more spiritual. The worst thing in the world for me right now would be to have to leave the Mission.

*Section 5150 of the California welfare code allows for the involuntary commitment of someone believed to have a psychiatric disorder that makes them a threat to themselves or others.

“Another successful Heart for Hunger food drive was conducted on December 6, thanks to 15 volunteers, two Albertson's grocery stores, two Ralph's grocery stores and an untold number of compassionate donors who went beyond themselves to supply food for the hungry. Donations from the four food drive locations came to 1,270 pounds of much-needed and much-appreciated non-perishable food items.

Many thanks to all who made this drive a success!

The Neighborhood Church of Santa Ana (or Oak Street Church, as it is affectionately known), in partnership with the Orange County Rescue Mission, held a Thanksgiving community outreach at which over 250 meals were served. The surrounding homeless community has come to rely on The Neighborhood Church as a consistent advocate of their cause. In addition to the meals served, 120 food boxes, 75 perishable food bags, 75 blankets and 100 hygiene kits were distributed in conjunction with Bible preaching and praise and worship.

“Every available seat in the church was filled three times that night, and the Gospel was heard twice along with continuous worship and praise music through out the evening,” said Neighborhood Church Pastor David Hernandez. “The Neighborhood Church in Del-Hi Santa Ana and I would like to extend the most grateful thank you from our hearts to all of you for your support and diligent work in the furthering of God's kingdom.”

Calvary Chapel Living Word will once again be at the District in Tustin sponsoring a concert benefiting the Orange County Rescue Mission. Several bands will be striking up a tune to promote awareness of the hundreds of Orange County residents who struggle to keep their families fed. Those who attend are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to deposit in barrels that will be available on site.

Come down to the District in Tustin on December 14, 6-9 p.m. and enjoy the show. Click here for a flier and map. See you there (don't forget your canned goods).

Thank you!

Bring the family to this one-of-a-kind, energetic Christmas production. Celebrate the gift of God at Christmas through music! video! comedian! drum corps! – all geared towards providing an entertaining, interactive opportunity to participate in God’s generosity towards those in need. Canned food admission. Join us to give back and bring Hope to This City!