In December 2007, Davis Rodriguez underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor on his right lung, leaving him unable to work, and consequently without the means to provide for himself. A friend invited him to church where he began to attend regularly. At one particular service, as the pastor shared about salvation through Jesus Christ, Davis felt that God was speaking directly to him. He responded to what he now knows was the call of God, and accepted Jesus as his Lord. From that point on, Davis had a brand new perspective on life.

As more and more people look to us for help, a summer slump threatens how much we’re able to do.

Whether our Orange County neighbors need a food box to get them through a tough time or help recovering from years of addiction, all are welcome at the Mission. But now, a summertime slump in giving threatens to put severe limits on how much help we can offer. Orange County Rescue Mission president Jim Palmer has put out a special call to friends like you: “Please help!” When you give a gift today, you will be showing true compassion for people in need. People like Lori.

Lori has struggled her whole life. Her parents were drug addicts. Thrown out of the house at 18, Lori took to dancing in men’s clubs. When a brief relationship left Lori with a newborn daughter, she left the clubs behind. But Lori’s new jobs could never pay the kind of money she made dancing. First she lost her condo. Then her ex-boyfriend won custody of their daughter. “I couldn’t handle not having my daughter,” Lori remembers. “I started using meth to cope with the pain.”

Lori moved from apartment to apartment, staying with friends, until a one-night stand left her pregnant again. Lori was able to find space in a sober-living community for expectant mothers, but social services seized her newborn daughter just days after her birth. Mired in despair, Lori looked for anything to distract her attention. That’s how she wound up at a special event she had heard about: the Grand Opening of the Orange County Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope.

“I absolutely fell in love with this place,” she says. She moved into the Village of Hope as soon as she could. “In other houses and shelters, I never felt safe,” Lori explains. “Here, I feel safe.”

Today, Lori is working hard to rebuild her life and win back custody of her younger daughter. “The social workers are happy I’m here,” she says. “I’m not around drugs anymore. Nowhere else compares to the Village of Hope.”

Jackie always seemed destined for big things — if only in the shadowy world of Orange County drug gangs. With her father and brothers already gang lords, it was natural for her to join the “family business.”

“It’s not easy as a female to deal with the big drug dealers and distributors,” Jackie says. “My father gave me a lot of power in that world. “I was always running on the streets,” she continues, “Never out of money, always with places to stay. “All those people are dead or in prison now,” she sighs.

In fact, realizing she was likely to end up behind bars too shocked Jackie into making a change. A counselor at a transitional-living center gave her a number to call — a number that rang at the Village of Hope. Jackie and her three sons joined us in January.

“God has a plan for me,” she says. “There were so many times I could have died. I was always in that shadow. One day soon, I hope to earn my license as a counselor,” she says. “I am responsible for a lot of broken lives. The best way to help is to be a counselor. Having three sons now scares me,” she continues. “They’ve seen one world. They need to see a better one and learn from my mistakes. I spent years making a name for myself on the streets. Now I want to make a name for myself with God.”

Second in a Series

Last month, Josh left Virginia to escape his drug habit ... but it wasn’t that easy. After partying through the South, Josh was implicated in a New Orleans theft. He faced serious jail time.

As told by Josh

Fortunately, the other guy convinced the court I wasn’t involved in the crime. I was ordered to show up for weekly drug tests, then they let me go. I showed up for my tests, but I was still in that drug world. I had to get out while I was still coherent, so I skipped my last test and hitchhiked to Galveston. I was there five or six months. But I got so depressed I jumped off the pier and swam out to sea. I was a mile or two out before a lifeguard on a surfboard grabbed me. “You’re a heck of a swimmer. You should be a lifeguard,” he said.

I laughed, because I had been a lifeguard at camp in Virginia. I don’t know if I really wanted to die, but I knew I had to get away. I spent time in Dallas and El Paso, and told myself this would be a fresh start. But I found easy connections there for powder and crack cocaine. I’d work construction and buy drugs. I blew $10,000 in one year on drugs.

My friends and I were a bad combination. Someone was going to end up dying and I was helping put them in their grave. I called a counselor I knew back at the drug program I had attended in Oklahoma. But they told me he wasn’t there anymore. He’d gone west to a place called the Orange County Rescue Mission. It took another six months before I got on a bus to California, but I finally felt like I had a place I needed to go.

Next month: Josh makes it to the Mission!

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation believes that it is “the actions of individuals working together that build strong communities...and that business has an obligation to support those actions in the communities it serves.” Working in partnership within communities nationwide to “build strong, healthy neighborhoods,” the Foundation directs the majority of its philanthropic efforts to address pressing social, economic and cultural needs, thus increasing the capacity of local nonprofits.

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has supported the programs of the Orange County Rescue Mission (OCRM) for over ten years. Grant funds helped construct the Village of Hope, a 192-bed transitional facility for the homeless, gave immediate assistance to those impacted by the September 2008 Southern California Freeway Complex Fires, and most recently, allowed for the reactivation of OCRM’s Mobile Medical clinic which provides healthcare to the chronic homeless. Funding and volunteer efforts have made significant differences in the lives of people impacted by natural disasters, poverty and homelessness while at the same time strengthening the ability of the Rescue Mission to more effectively serve the “least, the last and the lost”.

The Orange County Rescue Mission would like to sincerely thank the Bank of America Charitable Foundation for their strong commitment to community partnerships that foster community development, promote healthy neighborhoods, and expand the capacity of local non-profits.

Holstrom High School in Mission Viejo and their Leadership Team (led by president Megan Amo, above, right) held a hygiene drive in April to benefit the Orange County Rescue Mission. Nearly 30 students packed 250 hygiene kits full of BandAids, razors, shaving cream, lotion, toothbrushes & toothpaste, deodorant, towels, wash cloths, toilet paper, etc., all items that people are forced to do without when struggling to survive. These they delivered to our Village of Hope warehouse on the first of May. Supporting Holstrom High School in the collection of these hygiene items was Sheppard of the Hills United Methodist Church in Mission Viejo.

Thank you!

(If you are interested in doing the same, here is a list of commonly needed hygiene items.)

It’s a sad fact that when a real economic recovery arrives, the last people to feel it will be those on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder — the men, women and children served by the Orange County Rescue Mission. Combine that with the fact that government social services budgets have gone haywire, and there’s no doubt that times are tough for a lot of our Orange County neighbors. And then, on top of that, giving to the Mission is in a summer slump.

Giving often goes down in the summer. But knowing a summer slump is coming is one thing. Dealing with the consequences is something else. I can’t tell a hungry old man, “I’m sorry, you’ve picked the wrong time to ask for food.” I can’t tell a frightened young mother, “You and your child will have to look somewhere else for safe shelter.” With your help, I will never have to.

Every person who comes through our doors has his or her own story. But healing and recovery often begin the same way for each of them: with a hot meal served by a friendly volunteer. It’s a little bit of compassion that can have a tremendous impact! I have confidence we will make it through this summer slump and continue to provide food and other care for people who need it. Why? Because God is still in charge and good people like you still have it in your heart to help the less fortunate. Thank you.

In His service,

Since 1993, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church of Newport Beach has been an enthusiastic and dedicated supporter of the work of the Orange County Rescue Mission through donations, food drives, volunteerism and special projects. In April of this year, OCRM representatives were invited to share the heartbeat of our ministry to the homeless with the congregation and on Easter Sunday, an offering was taken in support of the Rescue Mission.

We'd like to offer our sincere thanks to St. Andrews for their very generous May 20 gift of $48,674.90! This support comes at a time when donations are traditionally low leading into the summer months, while the need for our services continues to increase due to the failing economy. This financial gift will translate into food, health care, vocational training, counseling and spiritual and personal development for the Least the Last and the Lost of Orange County.

God bless you!

If you do your regular shopping at Albertsons or Ralphs, you can help provide support to the homeless. Just register your Albertsons Preferred Savings and Ralphs Rewards cards, select the Orange County Rescue Mission and percentage of every purchase you make thereafter will be donated to OCRM to assist us in bringing hope to the Least, the Last and the Lost.

TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE and SIGN UP TODAY!! If just 60 people sign up and use your Albertsons Preferred Savings and/or Ralphs Rewards cards, and the average quarterly shopping percentage brings in a modest $3.15 each, then those 60 people could make $756.00 a year! JUST BY DOING OUR OWN GROCERY SHOPPING! Of course, the more you purchase, the more you earn for OCRM. (We'll keep you updated on the quarterly progress!)

Click the following links to sign up:

Albertsons Community Partners (Enter ID # 49000125638)
Ralphs Community Contribution (Enter Non Profit Organization # 91204)

Thank you!