Compassion and Fraud Call Out in Name of Charity : Prices Rise, and So Do Requests for Aid

Gearing up for Christmas 1987 has been extremely busy and trying, according to directors of the county’s social service centers. Food prices are up and so are requests for help.

“Today I saw a family that was being evicted and they needed $500 to $600--and the woman has three to four kids and she’s all by herself,” said Jean Forbath, executive director of Share Our Selves or SOS, a Costa Mesa-based agency that helps the homeless.

“We’ve got to get out these Christmas baskets, but we also have to do our everyday work helping people like her. What can we do? We have to help them.”

For agency directors like Forbath, who gather surplus food and buy wholesale items like turkeys, hams and bulk groceries to fill Christmas food baskets for the hungry, this year was difficult.

Turkey and ham prices skyrocketed almost 50% from Thanksgiving, Forbath said. Meanwhile, the number of volunteers needed to help pack and deliver baskets remained the same although requests for baskets and other assistance were up, she added.

Each year, the number of poor people in Orange County who do not have enough money to buy enough food grows. For many, it means that Christmas will be another year without a Christmas tree or any gifts, said Jim Hamlett, a spokesman for the Community Development Council, the county’s largest anti-poverty agency, which acts as an umbrella for more than 100 social service agencies in Orange County.

This year, about 383,000 people, up from 320,000 in 1980, are at or below the federal poverty level, Hamlett said, quoting from a recent report by the Advisory Commission of the state Department of Economic Opportunity. Under current guidelines, a household of four must earn about $11,000 or below to be considered impoverished.

Money and volunteers are needed year-round but especially during the holidays, Forbath said. She said her agency’s Adopt-a-Family program was supposed to help 1,000 families with Christmas presents. But so far only 800 sponsors, including corporations and private individuals, have signed up, and the agency is scrambling to raise money.

Even at discount rates, food has gotten more expensive for community social agencies with thin budgets, Forbath said.

“The need is always there. Call up any agency, they’ll tell you,” she said.

The Orange County Rescue Mission in Santa Ana can use gifts for adults, and blankets for the homeless. St. Vincent de Paul food bank needs cash donations, volunteers and surplus food.

How big is the need for toys, cash and food this year?

Gloria McDonough, executive director for Abrazar, an assistance center for the elderly in Westminster, had this recent interview to share:

“This lady called me up to say she didn’t get a food basket for Thanksgiving. She wanted to be put on the Christmas basket list, but we already had filled our 200 orders. I told her she would have to wait to see if we had a cancellation. She started to beg. She told me she had four kids. Her voice cracked. She started crying. . . . How do you turn these people away?”

Some Organizations Collecting for Needy

These Orange County service organizations and churches are among the major legitimate charitable groups accepting food, toys or cash donations for the needy during the holiday season. This list does not include all legitimate charitable groups.

Community Development Council of Orange County, 1695 W. MacArthur Blvd., (714) 540-9293, and St. Vincent de Paul’s food distribution center, 426-A W. Almond Ave. Orange, (714) 776-0276. These are the county’s largest food bank operations.

Abrazar Elderly Assistance, 7101 Wyoming St., Westminster, (714) 893-3581.

El Modena Service Center, 18672 Center St., Anaheim, (714) 532-3452. Food, toys and cash. Budget so low that cash is suggested. Expected to distribute 300 food baskets this year.

Catholic Charities, 2829 W. 1st St. Santa Ana, (714) 543-3924. Canned goods preferred, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, non-perishable protein foods.

Christian Temporary Housing Facilities, 704 N. Glassell St., Orange, (714) 771-2969.

Episcopal Service Alliance (three locations): 311 W. South St., Anaheim; 614 N. Bush St., Santa Ana; 150 Avenida Pico, San Clemente. Administrative office: (714) 364-2895

Southwest Community Center, 1601 West 2nd St., Santa Ana, (714) 543-8933. Needs canned goods for food baskets and new toys and blankets for the homeless who will receive special Christmas packages.

Orange County Rescue Mission, 1901 W. Walnut St., Santa Ana, (714) 835-0499. Needs turkeys, canned goods and gifts for men and women.

Orange County Indian Center, 12755 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, (714) 530-0221.

Salvation Army, 201 E. Cypress St., Anaheim, (714) 778-5460, and 818 E. 3rd St., Santa Ana, (714) 546-7880.

Dayle McIntosh Center for the Disabled, 150 W. Cerritos Ave., Anaheim, (714) 772-8285.