Buck-Raisin’ Buckaroos

The event: Shelter Stampede, a boot stompin’ hoedown staged by the Friends of Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter. Saturday’s dinner-dance took place at Bommer Canyon in Irvine and raised funds for the Costa Mesa-based homeless shelter.

Taste of the West: More than 150 suburban cowboys in blue jeans and boots gathered at the old cattle camp for what gala chairwoman Susan Leibel called “a western adult fantasy night.”

Guests tried their luck at casino games, line-danced to a country-western band and chowed down on barbecued beef and smoked chicken lasagna.

A few would-be ranch hands braved a bucking barrel. “People were looking for an event where they could be real comfortable and have a good time,” Leibel said. “We’ve all gone to enough black-tie dinners.”

A place to call home: Founded in 1981, the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter offers two programs for homeless women, couples and families: Emergency housing for a three- to seven-night stay that includes beds, meals, gasoline vouchers and phone service; and transitional housing for average stays of two to six months.

Clients staying at the transitional shelter must have an income. The agency provides food, shelter, counseling, employment assistance and child care. “We try to cover all of their basic needs so they’ll have enough money saved to move into stable housing,” said Sheri Barrios, executive director of the shelter.

Quote: “People think of the homeless as shopping-cart people, but a growing number are families,” Barrios said. “In Orange County, there’s no real affordable housing.”

Faces: Lois Jacobs; Ellie Gordon; Sally Phillips; Frank and Harriet Edelstein; Ellie Jaffy; Sue Michaelson; Judy Cooper; Sue Bershad; Myra Stillman; and Marv Udkoff.

Bottom line: The stampede was expected to net $50,000 for the shelter’s ongoing programs, which served 1,931 people last year.

What’s ahead: FOCIS on Dining, a monthly dinner series at area restaurants to benefit the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter, begins in October. (949) 673-6612.