Three Catholic churches in Fullerton are being credited with being among the driving forces behind recent actions taken by the city to address the homeless crisis, which continues to grip communities throughout Orange County.
Fullerton is estimated to have a homeless population of between 370 and 400, while countywide, the number is believed to be between 7,000 and 10,000.
On Nov. 5, the Fullerton City Council gave the green light for construction of a new 150-bed shelter in the city to be run by the Illumination Foundation, the Orange-based nonprofit that provides targeted, interdisciplinary services for the most vulnerable of Orange County’s homeless adults and children.
The shelter, dubbed the Navigation Center, which will have 60 beds reserved for recuperative care, could open as early as January 2020, says Greg Walgenbach, director of the Office of Life, Justice and Peace at the Diocese of Orange….
The above story comes from a Nov. 26 story in the OC Catholic.
Yay for the Diocese of Orange, and thank you for setting a high bar for compassionate care for our fellow citizens.
In the Bay Area, we are also, maybe even moreso, in the grips of homelessness. We are basically back to nineteenth century England, where economic disparities and widespread poverty fostered the creation of organizations like Salvation Army, who used a Christian response of compassion to spread their versions of Christianity. Unfortunately, it was a protestant and highly militarized version, but the days of Oliver Twist and nascent days of Salvation Army are shamefully at hand.
…shamefully at hand??!!? What’s the shame in helping people? Oh yes I forgot — they oppose gay marriage. YFC,- let it go, won’t you?
For whatever you do unto these least of my brethren you do unto me