LAGUNA BEACH : Beneficiaries Pitch In to Keep Center Going

With a growing number of clients straining services at Episcopal Service Alliance in Laguna Beach, staff members say they rely heavily on those who benefit to help keep the community service center afloat.

While other volunteers help as well, “we still wouldn’t be able to do it without the homeless people themselves,” said Marsha Bode, the only paid staff member at the Laguna Beach branch.

The clients pitch in and vacuum, wash dishes, cook, do desk work and pack up food boxes for others who are needy, she said.

“It makes them feel more a part of the place,” Bode said. “It’s not like a food line where they line up and you hand them something.”

The Laguna Beach facility--one of five Episcopal Service Alliance centers in Orange County--provides an employment program for the homeless as well as food, clothing, transportation and referrals to other county services. Other centers are in Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Anaheim and San Clemente.

Open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. five days a week, the Laguna Beach center does not offer overnight lodging, but clients can shower and wash their clothes, and hot lunches are provided each weekday except Thursday.

Recently, the number of clients served jumped by 200 in one month’s time, said Gary Lewis, Episcopal Service Alliance’s director of programs.

“They went from serving approximately 547 to 747 for the month of October,” said Lewis, who attributes the increase to the fact that summer jobs dried up and temperatures dropped.

For the holiday season, workers are planning two special events.

On Dec. 19, the center will have a celebration for needy families with children, including cookies, punch and a visit from Santa Claus. Parents will be allowed to choose one gift each for their children.

If workers have collected enough food by then, Bode said, they will distribute a box of food to each family as well.

On Dec. 23, the center will stage its third annual Christmas dinner, primarily for its homeless clients. Center workers hope to present the clients with gift bags stuffed with clothing and personal care items.

Bode said she is expecting more than 100 families on the 19th and about 150 men and women for the Christmas dinner.

To make these events successful, the center needs donations of food, including turkeys and hams, blankets, toothbrushes, underwear, clothing, socks and used clothes, Bode said.