August 20, 2008

On August 20, 2008, our small group of budding Social Workers traveled to and spent time in small sections of the neighborhoods of Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, and Orange. Each community was diverse in its population yet connected to each other by a strong social network of dedicated volunteers and professionals who were there for the sole purpose of helping Orange County families, with/without children, that were temporarily homeless and in need of immediate assistance.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Civic Engagement And Three Programs Serving the Homeless

Civic engagement means getting involved in a cause that addresses social and/or political issues that effect individuals and their quality of life.


See http://www.nytimes.com/ref/college/collegespecial2/coll_aascu_defi.html, for a more specific definition.


The three organizations that we visited during Community Immersion all promote and participate in civic engagement to better the services, resources and standard of living for the homeless in Orange County.


CHAT-H founders Dr. Handler and Paul Leon, RN, PHN both promoted the issue of dealing with homeless families in Santa Ana by lobbying at the county level. Their commitment to offering service to homeless individuals motivated them to talk about a subject that many people just don't want to discuss. Currently, CHAT-H is sponsored by the Illumination Foundation, whose mission is to promote awareness, involvement and action to eradicate homelessness. Please visit their web site and get involved: http://www.ifhomeless.org/Default.aspx?mod=home.


Isaiah House participates and hosts several community services that offer food, basic necessities such as blankets, clothes, school supplies and groceries to families and community residents in need. On a larger scale, Isaiah House participates in community engagement by promoting the needs of the homeless population in Santa Ana by posting informational bytes on websites such as youtube.com The following informational post can be accessed on the net: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM8fW0MlFC0

Project Hope School advocates for the most innocent population of homeless: children. Being part of the Orange County Department of Education, Project Hope School has a platform on the local government level to advocate for the needs of homeless children and their right to a public education that will address the unique needs that families facing poverty and lack of shelter present.

We can all be part of the solution to end homelessness.
How can one individual make a difference? Volunteering your time is one of the greatest gifts we can give to impact those people in need: the disadvantage, disenfranchised and the under represented populations.



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