LA HABRA : Church Land Sought for Homeless Shelter

A small community group, startled by the growing number of families in the area needing temporary shelter, has assumed the task of building them a home.

Although the home is still in the planning stages, the group is considering a number of locations, including an unused portion of the La Habra Boulevard site occupied by Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church.

“This proposed home is not for transients,” said Betty Rahtz, a board member of Mary’s Home for Families in Transition, which is an arm of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the official charity organization of the Catholic Church. “There are a lot of families out there who are in transition . . . who have fallen into the cracks (and need) an opportunity to rebuild their lives.”

Rahtz said the project is being carried out by the community rather than the church, despite the group’s association with the Catholic charity and the potential that the home will be built on church property. She said the group is purposely moving in a “professional step-by-step manner” to ensure community members who are not directly involved with the project that their concerns about building the home are heard.

Father Justin MacCarthy, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, said the group has made the diocese an offer to lease the land, which is behind the church and is part of the school’s playground, but the bishop has not made a decision on that proposal.

“Each day, a number of people come by (the church) looking for shelter for the evening,” McCarthy said. “It’s not overwhelming, not a large number,” he said, but there are enough people needing assistance that a temporary residence could “forestall the possibility of them having to spend time on the street.”

Scott Mather, who is coordinating the project with the dozen or so group members, said that the proposed home will be a “supportive household” for families in transition, especially single-parent families, and will offer help with job hunting, child care and counseling. He estimates that 70% of the county’s homeless live in the North County.

Partial funding for the proposed home will come from a bequest left to the St. Vincent de Paul Society by La Habra resident Mary Kretchmer, who stipulated that the money be used to help those in the community who are in need.

The group does not wish to disclose the amount of the bequest, which Mather says is substantial but not enough to fully fund the project. The group is seeking state and federal funds as well as private and corporate donations to help support the project, he said.

“Our goal right now is to do some work among the parishioners and community members, and get at least their tacit approval,” Mather said.

Mather, who is also the chairman of the California Homeless Coalition, said community residents will be shown a video that the group recently produced illustrating similar transitional homes now operating. He said that the video portrays the difference between the home which the group plans to build and traditional shelters for the homeless, and that he hopes it will help dispel stereotypes about people who need temporary homes.