YMCA Couple Suspended in Probe of Gifts From Mentally Ill

The manager of the Santa Ana office of the YMCA and his wife were suspended from their jobs Thursday pending an investigation into allegations that they improperly accepted money from mentally disabled residents in their care, YMCA officials said.

William Orrick and his wife, Irene, director of the YMCA’s homeless program, will be placed on administrative leave with pay while an investigation is conducted by the executive board, said D. Allen Shaffer, president of the YMCA of Orange County.

Officials said the investigation centers on whether the Orricks solicited and then improperly accepted thousands of dollars from four mentally disabled men referred by county mental health authorities to the YMCA for lodging.

In one case, officials said they are reviewing the way Irene Orrick managed the financial affairs of Walter Titch, a mentally disabled man on parole for burglary. Titch donated $5,000 of his disability payments to the YMCA earlier this year.

Officials will also be looking at whether the Orricks acted improperly in allegedly steering several YMCA clients to two rooming houses in Santa Ana owned by the couple, Shaffer said.

“We regard this as very serious, and the allegations are of great concern to the YMCA,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer called it “most unusual” for a YMCA staff member to control the financial affairs of a client, but said nothing in YMCA bylaws prevents such an arrangement.

Neither William nor Irene Orrick could be reached for comment Thursday.

Sees Nothing Improper

Tim Shields, a member of the board of the Santa Ana-Tustin YMCA, to which William Orrick reported, said preliminary information indicates there was nothing improper about the Orricks’ dealings with YMCA clients.

“The Orricks have spent entire working careers devoted to the YMCA,” Shields said Thursday. “Their morals, honesty, integrity are literally above reproach. They are distressed that the allegations were made, but they and the local board are certain that when there is a full and fair disclosure of facts, no wrongdoing will be found.”

YMCA officials said Orrick has managed the Santa Ana YMCA since 1985. He previously served as director of the Santa Maria Valley YMCA for several years, YMCA officials in Santa Maria said. Orrick is paid about $70,000 a year, officials said.

County mental health authorities became aware of the YMCA donations several weeks ago and, in the Titch case, filed an abuse report with the county social services agency, officials said.

“We were made aware of the allegations that funds were requested from and given by a client to the YMCA, and we raised the question of the propriety of that,” said Tim Mullens, director of the county mental health agency.

Mullens said that after discussions with YMCA officials, it was decided that the money would be returned to Titch.

Suicide Attempt

According to county mental health and state Department of Correction officials, parolee Titch apparently had an argument with William Orrick over money earlier this year and tried to commit suicide. Titch’s parole was revoked, and he is now undergoing psychiatric evaluation at the California Institution for Men at Chino, officials said.

Robert Bowman, regional administrator for the Department of Corrections, said he was unsure if Titch ever talked to parole officers about his financial arrangement with Irene Orrick. But Bowman said it was his understanding that Titch volunteered to donate the $5,000 to the YMCA.

YMCA board member Shields said concerns were originally voiced about the Orricks from within the local YMCA organization.

Three other men who were clients of the YMCA reportedly donated several hundred dollars to the organization, officials said.

The incidents “appeared to be isolated events,” Shields said.

He said local YMCA officials met with Titch’s parole officer and determined that “there was nothing improper about allowing the $5,000 donation to be accepted.”

“Titch had indicated that the YMCA was all the family he ever had, and he earmarked the money for the developmentally disabled program. He has reiterated his intent to make the donation,” Shields said.

Shields said the organization is now reviewing whether it would be more appropriate to provide outside trustee managers, rather than allowing YMCA employees to handle clients’s financial affairs.

Of the two rooming houses the Orricks own and operate, Shields said: “One of the missions of the Santa Ana YMCA is to provide food and shelter for the homeless. It is my understanding the Orricks went beyond their roles as employees of the Y in order to help the homeless.”