Q & A : Michael Lennon, executive director, HomeAid Orange County

Michael Lennon is executive director of HomeAid Orange County, a six-year-old nonprofit organization that builds and renovates shelters for agencies that serve the homeless. HomeAid, one of the sponsors of Homeless Awareness Week, was founded by the Orange County Building Industry Assn. in July, 1989. It has generated $6 million in donations and constructed facilities for 400 of the county’s 1,200 beds for the homeless. The organization focuses on the so-called transitional homeless--those who have fallen into difficulty because of job loss, illness or desertion by a spouse. Lennon, an Irvine resident, is the founding director of the organization. He spoke with Times correspondent Russ Loar.

Q: What is the size of the homeless problem in Orange County?

A: According to the Homeless Issues Task Force survey, there are between 12,000 and 15,000 homeless people. In 1989, there were from 8,000 to 10,000. They are primarily what we call the transitional homeless. They have had jobs and housing in the past but have fallen on hard times. If these people can get into a shelter program, where they receive a whole continuum of care, where they learn budgeting and life skills, where they can get job placement assistance and counseling, they’ll get back on their feet. Over a period of 30 days to 18 months, they will be living an independent lifestyle that is self-sustaining, with jobs and housing.

Q: Has the county bankruptcy made the problem worse?

A: It’s become more of a challenge. The gap between the very wealthy and the very poor is increasing. The bankruptcy has adversely affected programs that assist the homeless, so there is a greater need for the private sector to help out. We can’t count on government helping as much. But if an individual or an organization wants to be part of the solution, there is a way. There are hundreds of programs throughout the county. The real solution is in the way a community mobilizes its resources in addressing the underlying causes of homelessness, such as the lack of jobs.

Q: Is there really a lack of awareness that Orange County has a sizable homeless population?

A: There is the perception that these folks don’t exist. . . . They don’t fit the rich stereotype of the typical Orange County resident. There is this perception of Orange County, that there is a bunch of rich people here who didn’t want to pay the price of the bankruptcy. The reality is that incomes are huge for a few people in Orange County, but not that many. There is a large group of people in Orange County at the lower edge of the wage scale, the working poor who still have a job.