A fter nine years in prison, Glen gave up drugs completely. He was sober for two years, which he claims “were the best two years of my life.” But after drinking one cold beer after work, he became an alcoholic — just like his father, and three of his four brothers. Within four weeks he had a DUI; within nine months he was back in prison. After prison, he collapsed three times in one month from the abuse he was giving his body. He was so far down he began thinking life wasn’t worth living. Then he found the Mission, hope, and a new life. Thank you!

A naheim native Talia Scott was rebellious at a very young age. She started taking drugs at age 11. Her parents tried everything, but she bounced from relatives to Juvenile Hall to the streets. She finally landed in a gang: Down Familia of Wicked Soldiers (DFWS). At first she loved the wild, violent life. By age 26, though, she was getting tired. Tired of going to jail, not having what she wanted, sleeping in her car, having to leave her young daughters with friends. She just wanted a normal life. Then her uncle, who was also her best friend, decided to give up gang life. Just two days later, he was murdered.

Talia recognized the harsh wake-up call for what it was. She turned herself in, did her time and started looking for a program to help her get her life back on track. The same stubborn attitude that put her on the streets is now being put to good use at the House of Hope — learning parenting skills, studying the Bible, planning a career, staying sober. She is very proud of her 88 days of sobriety and the tremendous improvement in her relationship with her daughters. They are all young enough to begin brand new lives!

You are my hero! You save lives. I’m constantly humbled and inspired by your compassion and generosity.

You give sacrificially.
And for most of you, it isn’t out of wealth that you give. You are from all income levels. Many of you have been helped by the Mission and are giving back. But not only do you give to purchase meals and shelter — you are putting your faith into action.

You volunteer.
You serve meals, conduct food drives, tutor, fill hygiene kits, deliver Christmas to motel families, throw fundraisers, decorate Village of Hope rooms — I can’t even list it all!

You pray.
When I talk to men and women who have spent years on the streets and are now taking this opportunity to get back on their feet, they almost always refer to the fact that they know people love them, care for them and are praying for them. You are the ones who are doing that. Have you written a word of encouragement on an Easter or holiday dinner mat and returned it? A hungry person saw that. Have you delivered a Christmas tree to a homeless family? That was more than a gift; you were delivering God’s love.

Any meal we hand out comes with love and compassion from someone just like you. And it’s working. God is using all you do, all we do, to touch and change lives. You are my idea of a superhero! Thank you.

In His service,

The vision of the Change-A-Life Foundation is to change one life at a time through designated giving. Their $7,500 award for glucose test strips will do just that for 317 of our diabetic patients. Since more than 50% of our OCRM Healthcare Services patients suffer from diabetes and most don’t have enough money to buy their own prescriptions, these small test strips will make a big difference in how patients stabilize their blood sugar levels.

Thank you, Change-A-Life!

Have you ever seen a homeless person standing on the street corner with a sign saying “Will work for food?” What should you do? Should you give them money? Should you buy them food? These options provide only temporary relief, but at the Orange County Rescue Mission, we want to suggest a way that you can make a permanent difference in homeless people's lives:

Refer them to us!

We have downloadable and printable cards with the services we offer and a map to our emergency/transitional facility in Santa Ana. Click here to download the cards in PDF format. Print them out, keep them in your car and hand them out to the homeless people you encounter.