Taking on Hunger and Homelessness

Thank you for your article on Hunger in Orange County (Oct. 16). The image of a 95-year-old woman existing on only one meal a day and of parents who cannot feed their children will not leave me.

I applaud all the schools and organizations listed that will accept food donations, but why not all schools, all churches, all synagogues, all colleges, and all city halls? Hunger in Orange County should be everyone’s concern.

I challenge each of us to collect, bring or send food and/or a check to Share Our Selves in Costa Mesa, to the Southwest Center in Santa Ana, or any other agency that performs the vital community responsibility of feeding the hungry. If each of us educates one other person to the need and contributes more ourselves, we will ease the burden.

Feeding people, however, is only the first step. The second is to be sure that everyone has a safe place to sleep. We need to work with existing shelters in our community and expand and open new shelters for the homeless. And, third, large numbers of us need to explore ways to create enough rental housing that every family can afford. Throughout the county, there are concerned groups grappling with these difficult problems. More of us need to make it our concern.

LINDA SCHULEIN

Newport Beach

( Linda Schulein is vice president of the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter for Homeless Families) .