Firefighters Help Complete Shelter for the Abused

Trying to open a shelter for abused and neglected children and their mothers has been a long and painful struggle for Eli Home, an Anaheim-based charity that has drawn the wrath of neighbors and met financial and legal problems.

But now, with help from off-duty city firefighters, construction is moving ahead on the seven-bedroom shelter, which could be ready for occupancy sometime this spring.

“These firefighters are saving the day,” Eli Home founder and executive director Lorri Galloway said Wednesday as about a dozen volunteers did drywall work on a rainy morning. “We can never express our gratitude.”

Among the volunteers was Pat Ochoa, a 10-year Anaheim Fire Department veteran. He said the firefighters support Eli Home because it will provide more than temporary assistance to abused children.

“We see the kids, we know the situation,” Ochoa said. “We go out there [on rescue calls] and help them, but that’s not the same as helping with their long-term needs. This is a place they’ll be able to go where there’s a chance for life.”

Despite receiving a Point of Light award from then President Bush and a citation for outstanding volunteerism from President Clinton, Eli Home has been beset by difficulties in its efforts to open a shelter in affluent Anaheim Hills.

In 1994, the charity paid $125,000 for an abandoned, partially constructed house with the intention of converting it into a shelter. Projected opening dates kept getting pushed back, however, as Eli Home battled neighbors who remain bitterly opposed to the facility.

Spearheading the resistance has been Gene Secrest, who charges that the shelter is in an unsuitable location, that it will disrupt the neighborhood, and that too many people will be staying there. The two-story house has about 3,000 square feet of living area and will accommodate up to 23 residents.

“There’s virtually nothing right about that house,” said Secrest, whose home is next to the shelter. “We found alternative sites for them which are much better adaptable to their needs. They wanted none of those.”

Secrest and some of his neighbors have also accused Eli Home of mismanagement and fraud. The charity responded by filing a $19.5-million lawsuit, charging the neighbors with making false statements and thus scaring off potential donors.

Anaheim City Councilman Bob Zemel, a staunch supporter of Eli Home, said it is unfortunate that the shelter has met such strong opposition.

“I understand the fear of the unknown,” Zemel said Wednesday. “But I’m convinced that Eli Home will prove to be not only a wonderful neighbor but a charity that is worth its weight in gold to the county.”