COSTA MESA : Shelter Residents Honor Supporters

Residents of the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter were pleased by a visit Wednesday from local business people and others who donated $10,000 each to sponsor a family’s living quarters.

Five of the shelter’s 18 bedrooms for families have been supported for a year, thanks to a new “adopt-a-unit” fund-raising project.

At a breakfast Wednesday, representatives of Taco Bell Corp., ITT Federal Bank, Cerplex Inc. and St. Joseph’s Foundation received awards for their support and saw small plaques placed on the doors of their “adopted” rooms.

Shirley and Austin Mahr, longtime supporters of the transitional shelter who have sponsored a room, also were honored.

“A nice couple,” said resident Sylvia Mendez, who lives in the room the Mahrs funded. She met the couple for the first time at breakfast.

“I showed them our bedroom and thanked them,” Mendez said after the ceremony.

Earlier this week, Mendez scrubbed the sidewalk in front of her temporary home, edged the lawn and carefully raked the sand in the community play area.

She lives at the shelter with her daughters, Stephanie, 12, and Lawren, 2, and Lawren’s father, Art Lopez. A trained laboratory assistant, Mendez said she wants to become a nurse.

Her daughter Stephanie and other children sang for the donors and guests, who included state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R--Newport Beach), Mayor Sandra L. Genis, Councilwoman Mary Hornbuckle and many supporters of the shelter.

Families stay at the shelter for up to 60 days and receive food and counseling to help them find jobs and permanent housing. They must save 80% of their income while at the shelter.

More than 1,300 people have been fed or housed by the shelter in 1993, almost half of them children, according to staff.