Celebrating Change
Human Options, an Orange County shelter for abused women, celebrated its 20th anniversary in a ballroom dotted with butterfly-shaped balloons symbolizing the metamorphosis of shelter graduates--20 of whom attended.
More than 400 guests joined in the April 27 dinner gala at the Hyatt Regency Irvine co-chaired by Meredith Khachigian and Ann Sim that netted about $160,000 for shelter programs.
“If not for the support I received from Human Options, I know I would have died at the hands of my abusive husband,” one shelter graduate said. “It was my last chance.”
What started as a small hotline in a church basement has evolved into a state-of-the-art emergency shelter serving 40 women and children, shelter founder and executive director Vivian Clecak said. “I was struck by the fact that, in the place [the home] where these women were supposed to be safest, they were the most afraid,” she said. “I just could not let that go.” Information: (949) 737-5242.
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