Tag: homeless

Southern California Repurposes Buildings for Trafficking Survivors, Homeless

LOS ANGELES—When San Diego stopped issuing strip club licenses and a local club went up for sale, a church bought it to create a shelter for human trafficking survivors. When the pandemic bankrupted a family favorite roller rink that had been in Los Angeles for more than 40 years, a project to turn it into…


Huntington Beach Takes New Collaborative Approach to Homelessness

Huntington Beach is expanding its strategy to help the homeless by creating new partnerships with local nonprofits and the police department’s Homeless Task Force. “It’s a true partnership with everybody in the community. Everybody’s got a stake in the game,” Lt. David Dereszynski, executive officer of the Homeless Task Force, told The Epoch Times. The…


Once-Homeless Former Addict Starts Nonprofit Overseeing 9 ‘Sober Homes’ to Help Others

After battling a decades-long drug addiction, four years in prison, and homelessness, a man from Canada entered a treatment program where he turned his life around. Today, he runs nine “sober homes” providing safe, supportive spaces for other addicts trying to get back on their feet. Speaking to The Epoch Times via social media, Russell…


Homeless Mom With 7 Kids Gifted House, Thanks to Donations From ‘Griswold Light Display’

What started out as a little holiday fun turned into a life-changing philanthropic movement for a couple who call themselves The Griswolds of New Jersey. Steve and Gina Harbaugh, of Mickleton, gifted a house to a homeless mom and her seven kids with the help of donations they raised from their 2020 Christmas light display….


Anaheim Tackles Homelessness Through Motel Conversion Program

Aging motels, commercial, and office buildings in Anaheim are getting a second lease on life. The buildings are being converted into affordable housing units under the city’s motel and commercial and office building conversion ordinance, which was passed by Anaheim council in 2019. The first project to take advantage of the ordinance is the Econo…


Locals Fear Filth From Homeless Camps Adding to Water Pollution in Venice Beach

LOS ANGELES—When Brian Averill began surfing in Venice Beach 20 years ago, he said one of the best times to catch a wave was the day after rainfall. It’s not unusual to see beachgoers enjoying a swim or a jog on the first day of sunshine after a storm, but Averill soon realized he was…


Orange County Sheriff Reveals New Strategy to Tackle Homelessness 

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) is shifting the way it interacts with the homeless through dozens of liaison officers trained to work with the demographic. “This is necessary because when we’re dealing with the homeless, we’ve realized that many of these people are experiencing mental illness, and also substance use disorder,” Sheriff Don Barnes…


Homeless Man Stole $10,000 Worth of Tools From Construction Site, so Company Owner Hires Him

A homeless man who walked away with an estimated $10,000 worth of tools from a construction site later returned to the scene of the crime to make amends. The business owner was livid, but soon had a change of heart and hired the thief. Surveillance footage caught 33-year-old Travis Sueyoshi stealing from a TSW Fabrication…


Santa Ana Signs Contract with Non-Profit to Remove Homeless From Parking Lot 

The City of Santa Ana has come to an agreement with a local non-profit that was allowing more than 40 homeless people to camp out on its parking lot. The agreement, approved on March 17, gives the encampment 45 days to move out of El Centro Cultural de Mexico’s parking lot. The situation at El Centro, a 837 N. Ross St….


Faith and a Father’s Tough Love Set Troubled Youth on Path to Help Others

Zach Southall was bound for the wrong direction. It was the 1980s, and he was growing up in an apartment in Southern California packed with family members who were criminals and drug addicts. Between stints in jail, they would crash there with him and his mother.  “That rubs off on you when you’re young,” he told The Epoch Times. “You learn bad lessons, like ‘You ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’.’” …