Best Homeless Service Garden Grove Near Me

4worldlovers:

WISEPlace is the only Orange County-based nonprofit leading the effort to end homelessness for unaccompanied women. We provide women with safe shelter, counseling and mental health services, case management and addiction recovery, and employment assistance to help rebuild their lives.


At WISEPlace, the women we serve often lack the support system of a spouse, significant other, or children. Nearly half are disabled, over eighty percent have experienced domestic violence and nearly all have incomes well below the poverty line. These and other factors put the women we serve at a greater risk of becoming homeless.


As a young child, Marjhoree endured more trauma and hardship than anyone should ever experience. Growing up with her mother and sister in Kansas City, Missouri, they were constantly on the run from her abusive father, who was eventually sent to prison for murdering another woman. Read more…


If someone had told me that at 59 years old, I would be sleeping in my car night after night, I would have said they were crazy. I had raised six children on my own while working full-time and prided myself on my independence. But there I was. Alone, scared, and with no idea how to get my life back. Read more

I couldn’t believe how quickly my life changed. Everything I loved and counted on was gone in the blink of an eye. Tera and her husband had been married for just two years and were settling into a happy life together when he suddenly died of a heart attack. In just a few short moments, one of the best times in Tera’s life had turned into her worst nightmare. Read more


Imagine a life so filled with intense family trauma, that Ycela’s drug addiction started when she was 13 years old following family separation. She dropped out of high school, had her first child at 15, followed by two more children over the next several years. Not being able to provide stability, she was denied custody. It was the wake-up call she needed, and she entered rehab. She relapsed after a few years and went through treatment again in 2014 fully committed to staying sober. Read more


I slowly opened my eyes and found myself staring at the feet of people walking by. My body ached from lying on the hard pavement and my stomach growled. As always, my first thought was finding food and a public restroom. I also had to find a safer place to sleep tonight. The streets are so dangerous for a woman on her own. How much longer could I go on like this? How was I going to survive another day? Read More


Diana was 70 years old when she first experienced homelessness. She fled an unsafe family situation and resorted to sleeping in her car alone night after night. Without a job, support system, or a home, Diana was scared and unsure where to turn for help.


Imagine a home life so bad that Chynna packed up her few belongings and decided to live in her car. She was working hard and long 12-hour shifts for a food delivery service and a second job at a retail store, but it was barely enough to pay for gas, food, and other expenses.

When Ms. M’s parents divorced when she was 19, the world as she knew it fell apart. As the eldest sister of six children, Ms. M stepped up to raise her two youngest brothers and take care of her grieving mother. Her father abandoned her emotionally and abused her mentally and verbally, which intensified the toxic family environment.


Until she was 11 years old, Ceara had a steady home living with her mom and grandmother. When her grandmother passed away, her mom couldn’t pay the rent and they were evicted. Unable to afford other housing, they rented a room where they endured unsanitary living conditions, mental abuse, and sexual harassment. Facing unbearable stress at home and bullying at school, Ceara dropped out in eighth grade. The landlord eventually evicted them and, at age 14, Ceara and her mom were homeless.


Jennifer had been addicted to substances for 25 years — her entire adult life. She had been in jail, in and out of treatment facilities, but without hope for the future or stable housing, she would relapse each time. The last time she stepped out of a rehab facility, she decided it was time to put an end to this destructive cycle once and for all. But how?


Although Patty was trying to move forward, the toxic relationship she had with her family since childhood only grew worse, and she endured daily threats and abuse. Her mother eventually threw her out, a move that may have saved her life…

4worldlovers:
Southern California Public Radio (89.3 KPCC) recently ran a series of stories examining homelessness in Orange County. Pathways of Hope staff, Michael Shepherd, had the opportunity to speak with reporter Erika Aguilar about our Via Esperanza immediate response housing program:


A new emergency shelter for homeless families that opens Tuesday in Anaheim aims to reduce the amount of time families spend on the streets by using a triage strategy modeled after emergency hospital rooms. Pathways of Hope will provide immediate care and then sort out what specific programs people need.

Up to 13 families facing immediate homelessness can stay in a one or two bedroom, furnished apartment for up to 30 days in a remodeled 10-unit complex run by Pathways.

“It’s a safe and stable place for them to assess their options with our staff and find the solution that will end their homelessness the quickest,” said housing and community engagement manager Michael Shepherd.

Shepherd said there won’t be a long pre-interview process or wait-list for homeless parents with at least one child, under age 18.

There are several homeless shelters and housing assistance programs in Orange County aimed at families, but many do not operate like a true emergency shelter.

They may, for example, serve women with children only, which makes it difficult for fathers to stay with their family or single dads with kids. They might focus on domestic violence victims, or won’t accept teenage boys because of liability risks, said Shepherd.

Others shelters ask families to enroll in a long-term housing program, with job or personal finance counseling services, which can take time to process and be a barrier to those who only need is a place to stay short-term.

“What we’ve seen in the last few years is that not everybody needs those intensive services,” said Shepherd. “Some people just need a few days to reconnect with family to see where they can move in.”

Instead of “homeless shelter,” Shepherd employs a little marketing by calling the program, a “housing program,” in order to connect with those who don’t see themselves as being homeless, or transient.

4worldlovers: We’re pleased to offer you a digital copy of our Spring Issue! Inside: ideas and stories that will inspire you to get engaged in your SoCal community. Click on the button now to read the electronic version. Once there, you can flip through and read by clicking on the arrows just like a physical magazine. Look for free printed copies being delivered to your home, church, or business soon.

Lutheran Social Services serves people in need throughout Southern California with programs and services in multiple locations in the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego. We are planning future services in the counties of Imperial, Kern, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. In all our programs, we seek to improve the lives of those in need.


Lutheran Social Services of Southern California annually serves thousands of individuals and families throughout Southern California with 40 different programs/services at many different locations.