BANG! ... BANG! ... BANG! The shots rang out in the motel parking lot. Gina jumped in fear as she thought of her daughter playing downstairs in the courtyard. Was she safe? Yes. Her daughter, Dakota, was safe — this time.

Motel life is no way to raise children. Gina didn’t even want her daughter near any of her neighbors at the homeless motel. But she had to admit to herself that it was her lifestyle — her bad choices — that had gotten them there. Now they were stuck.

Gina grew up in a typical family in Costa Mesa. She remembers acting up a lot as a kid and using recreational drugs in high school. Still, she graduated from high school, got married, had a daughter. Everything seemed fine — until the abuse started. Gina began using drugs to escape the awful reality. But even after her abusive husband left, her drug habit continued.

As the years went by and she had another daughter, it got harder and harder to get by. The drugs were the only things that made her feel good. Eventually, the drugs cost Gina her job, her apartment and her car — and landed them in the motel life she hated. But she still couldn’t stop. When her drug use landed her in jail for 11 days, she lost her youngest daughter, Dakota, to the foster-care system. “That was my wake-up call,” Gina laments. “I was willing to do anything — but I didn’t know how. Then someone told me about the House of Hope.”

The House of Hope has such a good reputation that her social worker let Dakota come back to live with her mom. They both love it! “It’s very structured here — exactly what we need,” says Gina. “We don’t have an 11 a.m. checkout every morning like at the motels. We know where we’re going to go to sleep and where we’re going to wake up. It feels safe, plus there are other children for Dakota to play with.” Gina has been sober for 10 months! For the first time in years, Gina has hope. She is working on her job skills, setting goals, making plans, learning a new way to live.

“I have a relationship with God now,” she says. “I’m building a foundation, I have inner peace.” She also has a message for friends of the Mission. “God bless you for donating to the House of Hope,” she says. “I thank God for this place — it means the world to us.”

Your gifts to the Mission heal hearts, change lives and bring hope every day! Thank you!

Your gifts are a blessing to so many people in so many ways . Here are a few examples of lives and hearts touched by your kindness…

One-Year Anniversary of Husband’s Suicide

About to Fall Over the Edge

Moms Choosing Between Food and Rent

Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts to the Rescue!

Since the 19th Century to the present day, Wells Fargo has been helping California communities. Safeguarding the mail, settlers, and valuables in the early settlement days has given way to safeguarding the community through the funding of projects that help enhance the quality of life. We are appreciative of Wells Fargo’s commitment to our joint partnership in helping those in need.

The Wells Fargo Foundation quickly responded to the plight of the victims of the California wildfires, by offering $10,000 in funds to the Orange County Rescue Mission (OCRM) so that we could purchase food, lodging and clothing for our neighbors.

The Wells Fargo Foundation again partnered with the Rescue Mission to help complete the construction of the Children’s Playground at the Village of Hope with a grant of $20,000. The playground is bright and colorful and will provide hours of joy to the children who call the Village of Hope home.

A special thank you is given to Alan Epperson, Senior Vice President, Orange County Division Manager of the California Business Banking sector for Wells Fargo. Alan, pictured on right at the top of the playground stairs with Jim Palmer, President of OCRM, has been an advocate of the Rescue Mission’s programs for several years. Alan helped the House of Hope domestic violence shelter procure energy saving tankless water heaters; served on the Village of Hope Construction Board, and most recently, advocated for funding of Operation OC, our local fire relief program. Thank you, Alan, for your enthusiasm and support!

And “Thank You” Wells Fargo for continuing to safeguard our community through the efforts of service-minded volunteers and financial support of vital human service programs.

1. HUNDREDS OF GRADUATES of our Men’s New Life Program who have been freed from their addictions.
2. WOMEN who’ve graduated from our House of Hope program.
3. CHILDREN whose futures have been changed as their parents break the cycle of poverty.
4. WORKING POOR FAMILIES who don’t have to choose between rent and food anymore since you provided a food basket.
5. OLD MEN who’ve been rescued from sleeping on cold park benches.
6. YOUR CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN and others get to see Christian charity in action.
7. 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE who’ve been directly or indirectly affected by the lives changed here over the past 45 years.
8. ORANGE COUNTY TAXPAYERS who have saved the costs of welfare, prison, crime, unemployment and emergency rooms that stem from services to the homeless.
9. OUR STAFF, who let God work through them and are often changed in the process.
10. YOU, the donor. You’ve experienced the blessing of helping others.

We continue to move forward on the Hope Family Housing community in spite of last month's rains. We have completed all the cabinets, interior trim, and handrails, as well as interior painting and counter tops in the first half of the units. We are currently waiting on a couple donations to come through before we start the remaining finishes. We are trying to finalize donation amounts for our lights, door knobs, bath hardware, medicine cabinets and flooring. Until these are all finalized we will be concentrating on getting the site into a position to begin landscaping.

In addition to the donations we are finalizing for the units, we are also in the process of finalizing donations for the remaining site development including; site lights, play equipment, park benches, turf blocking, pavers, and our entry structure and sign. The next couple of weeks will be exciting as our last few trade partners and suppliers finalize their contracts and donation amounts. If you'd like to get involved, call (714) 247-4306.

Most people, if they are cited by law enforcement for some misdemeanor offense, fearing the consequences of not doing so, will show up for court on the prescribed date. They will shower, dress respectfully and arrive promptly in order to obtain the best possible outcome from the judge.

Not so with the chronically homeless offender. To begin with, adherence to a calendar is not generally one of his strong suits. And even if it were, he would be disallowed entry to the court because of his inability to meet the minimum dress code requirements. Consequently, his court date lapses and a bench warrant is issued, prompting his arrest and the issuance of a new court date, which he, for the same reasons, misses. And on it goes.