Little Saigon center a hit so far

Hundreds of people had been waiting in line for nearly an hour by the time Orange County’s new satellite office opened its doors at 9 a.m. Monday in Little Saigon.

Most were Vietnamese residents with questions about applying for low-income housing. Some came by bus, towing young children and suitcases filled with documents and bills.

They were participating in an experiment: the county’s first multi-service office outside the Santa Ana Civic Center. “This is a way for the county government to come to the people who need our help,” said Supervisor Janet Nguyen, who represents the district and established the office in Little Saigon to aid the area’s large number of low-income residents who speak limited English.

Nguyen said the office, which can be used by people from anywhere in Orange County, would help them navigate dozens of county departments. The 2,000-square-foot building, on the corner of Magnolia Street and McFadden Avenue, holds staff from the county’s housing, healthcare and social services agencies as well as its department of aging and development services. It also offers Vietnamese and Spanish translators.

On Monday, dozens of people gathered around Andrew Do, Nguyen’s chief of staff, as he explained how to fill out the form for subsidized housing. He told the crowd to pay attention to instructions and urged them to come back to the center if they had questions regarding Medicare or food stamps.

“This is one place you can come and get all your questions answered,” he said.

Han Nguyen, a single mother, has never applied for subsidized housing because she said the paperwork was too confusing. The 36-year-old came to the center during a break from her $350-a-week job as a manicurist in Little Saigon because she wants to move out of the small room in which she shares a bed with her 5-year-old.

“I didn’t apply for housing before because I thought I could just work and get the money, but now I’m having trouble paying rent,” said Nguyen, who is not related to the supervisor. At the center, she found help from a Vietnamese-speaking staff member.

Other supervisors were critical of the idea when Supervisor Nguyen first proposed the center this summer. Some charged that it was aimed at boosting her reputation in Little Saigon.

But the supervisor gained support, and the center was approved in July.

A 12-month pilot program was expected to cost $128,000 the first year and then $117,000 annually. It will need reauthorization from the board to continue.

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mythuan.tran@latimes.com