A new shelter in Orange offers temporary housing for homeless families, with services and resources to help them stay off the streets.

The HomeAid Family CareCenter opened last week to great interest, with 40 residents brought in right away. The center can support a maximum of 56 people – roughly 10 to 15 families at a time.

Sitting in the shelter’s dining area, Jennie Galindo watched with a smile as her 8-and 10-year-old sons played a board game together.

Quality family time like this had been in short supply for the Galindos, who have been homeless since June. Now welcomed as one of the shelter’s first families, they can take a breather while Galindo focuses on finding employment and housing with help from staff.

(left to right) Joshua Galindo, 11, Jennie Galindo and Ivan Angel-Galindo, 8, have been staying at the facility since it opened one week ago. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

The reception area of the new HomeAid facility. Designed to be welcoming and less institutionalized, it strives to be welcoming to the clients as they arrive at the facility. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

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Beds and storage area are available in each of the sleeping areas. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

HomeAid’s new Orange-based “Family CareCenter” recently opened up, and families are moving in. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

Elizabeth Olives-Romero makes the beds in one of the sleeping areas. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)



HomeAid’s Executive Director, Scott Larson, poses by one of two signature murals that were created on opening day of the facility. The center helps homeless families to find their footing by taking them in and helping them to get their lives back on track. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

Donors names are featured on bricks leading into the facility. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

HomeAid’s new Orange-based “Family CareCenter” recently opened up, and families are moving in. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

The center helps homeless families to find their footing by taking them in and helping them to get their lives back on track. Art that was created on opening day adorns the walls. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

Client, Jennie Galindo, sits in the eating area at the Orange facility. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)



The facility includes an area with games and books. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

A typical sleeping area with storage and short walls for privacy, but that still enables security for the facility. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

Client, Jennie Galindo, center, with sons, Ivan Angel-Galindo, left, 8, and Joshua Galindo, right, 11, are currently staying at the facility. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

The family chooses a game to play. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

Ivan Angel-Galindo, 8, stands next to a signature mural that was created on opening day at the facility. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)



An overall of the sleeping area which features low walls for privacy and still enables security of the entire facility. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

HomeAid’s new Orange-based “Family CareCenter” recently opened up, and families are moving in. Breakfast cereals are stored in the kitchen area. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

The family plays a game in the eating area. The center helps homeless families to find their footing by taking them in and helping them to get their lives back on track. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

Mercy House Director of Family Housing, Sarah Jones, poses in front of art work that was created on opening day. Mercy House runs the day-to-day operations of the facility that is owned by HomeAid. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

Clients leave during the daytime and return after 5pm to the facility. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)



(left to right) Joshua Galindo, 11, Ivan Angel-Galindo, 8, and Jennie Galindo, have been utilizing the facility since it opened a week ago. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

Executive Director of HomeAid Orange County, Scott Larson, gives a tour of the brand new facility. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)

“It’s great, it’s the best feeling in the world,” Galindo said. “Now we just see what the next step is for us – see what doors open up.”

The center was developed by HomeAid, a national nonprofit that provides housing opportunities for the homeless. HomeAid Executive Director Scott Larson said the center addresses an increasingly visible need for temporary housing and service connections – particularly for families with children, who face a service gap compared to single people.

Families must be referred to the shelter by an outside source, such as another nonprofit or through the county’s 2-1-1 services line. There are no walk-ins. No registered sex offenders or individuals with warrants will be accepted.

A secure respite

The center is equipped with a range of amenities including lockers, a laundry room, bathrooms with showers and a dining area with a kitchen. A tech lab in the back gives parents a chance to polish up resumes and search for jobs, while children can do their homework with volunteer support.

HomeAid has used a contemporary approach to bedrooms, assembling them in a warehouse-like space by pushing chest-high mobile shelves together. This gives a sense of privacy for families while still allowing staff to supervise the area with ease. The rooms can be easily re-arranged to accommodate larger families. To the side, a children’s area is set up with a selection of board games, books and plush dolls.

This style of shelter is the first of its kind for HomeAid, and will serve as a template for the organization’s future endeavors, Larson said.

For families such as the Galindos, the center offers a much-needed respite.

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Finding their footing

Operations at the CareCenter are handled by Mercy House, an Orange County nonprofit that operates several shelters.

Sarah Jones, Orange County director of family housing strategies with Mercy House, said getting the families set up with housing by the time they leave is the No. 1 priority for the program.

“The last thing we want is for them to leave here and go back to homelessness,” Jones said.

Each family that stays at the shelter completes an assessment that places them on a county list of those in need of services, ordered by vulnerability. A host of agencies use this list when offering aid, though what happens next will often depend on the family and their situation, Jones said.

Options include entering into a longer-term program, being reconnected with family or friends and “rapid re-housing,” which places families in homes and continues to offer support over the next six months to a year.

Service providers will regularly visit the shelter to interact with families and give them an idea of what kinds of resources are available to them. Agencies offer help with finding jobs, resolving transportation or education barriers and much more.

Jones said the CareCenter serves as a secure gateway to a world of services for the homeless – a world much more easily conveyed in a secure environment than on the street or in a tent.

“I think places like this are a stepping stone for families – a way to get them connected,” she said. “If they’re in their car, in the streets or in a park, they can’t have that. They don’t have that. That capability of going to a job interview, going to school or getting their kids fed is so much less.”

The shelter gives preference to homeless families in Orange or with ties to the city – through a church, for example.

The best way for families to get in touch or learn more is to call 2-1-1, which can provide information on a range of resources and help to get into the CareCenter or similar programs around the county.