Two Bright Spots for the Less Fortunate : As Other Programs Bow to Fiscal Fates, Soup Kitchen and YMCA Housing Are Spared

Gloomy news abounds among agencies that deal with the poor, especially with the continuing threat of deep cuts in programs as every level of government tries to cope with fiscal crises. But there were two bright spots recently in Orange County on a bleak landscape.

One involved finding a new home for Merle Hatleberg’s “Someone Cares Soup Kitchen.” The kitchen had been shifting from location to location after being ousted from Costa Mesa’s Rea Community Center when neighbors angrily protested. Its new quarters are at First United Methodist Church, also in Costa Mesa, which has opened its doors to this worthwhile program for the poor.

The 69-year-old Hatleberg is one of Orange County’s treasures, and deserves everyone’s thanks for her personal commitment to feeding the poor. Many local organizations have also helped with food and other donations to keep the soup kitchen afloat even while its location was in question.

The other good news involved Santa Ana’s decision to purchase the three-story YMCA, which it plans to renovate and turn into a single-room-occupancy hotel for 100 to 150 tenants. The YMCA previously had been used as a rooming facility before being closed down. The city’s move preserves and expands an important low-cost housing resource in an area that is beset with homelessness.

The city agreed to purchase the YMCA with $619,000 in redevelopment money. It will seek a nonprofit organization to develop and run the hotel. Rents are expected to be $300 to $400 a month--far less than the going rates for rental housing in the area. Santa Ana is also considering undertaking an affordable housing project at the city’s YWCA shelter. SROs are much needed in Orange County, especially for the working poor and others with limited incomes.

A new location for Someone Cares and a refurbished SRO hotel in Santa Ana--both are good news.