Orange County
Community Housing Corporation
Beginnings
Spring 2007
Volume 6, Number 4
Welcome to Beginnings
In this, our 30th year, we are anticipating
that it will be our busiest and most challenging. Grading and marketing will
commence on the ETHIC 166 units at
Heritage Fields and construction will
start on the OCCHC/Taller San José project in Santa Ana’s historic Logan neighborhood.
Also, we have almost 200 students
involved in our Tutor House and College
Awareness Programs. We believe our
Academic Mentors and Academic
Advisors are the brightest and best that
our local colleges have to offer.
Add to that the beginning of a
$20,000,000 Stepping UP Endowment
and the special attention being paid to
succession planning; as evidenced by the
picture to the right, 2007 should be the
year that sets in place the assets necessary for the next 30 years.
Our directors, donors and advisory board
members remind us of this “If we're
growing, we're always going to be out of
our comfort zone."
John Maxwell
OCCHC Board of Directors Elects Yesenia Velez as Chair
OCCHC Board of Directors is pleased to announce the election
of Yesenia Velez as Chairman of the Board for the next two
years. Well known for creating OCCHC’s signature program,
Stepping UP, where she was once the Program Director,
Yesenia continues the great work of Chair Emeritus, Amin
David who volunteered as Board Chair from 2004-2006. As
Director of Diversity at Orange County United Way, Yesenia
now works with the Women's Empowerment Portfolio and the
Somos Familia Initiative focusing on the economic
empowerment of minority communities. With an extensive
background in working with low-income families and nonprofits throughout Orange County, Yesenia helps to mobilize
grass-roots projects that focus on the long-term financial
independence for some of the county's most underserved
residents. In addition, she co-facilitates the 14-week Multi
Ethnic Leadership Institute hosted by United Way in
partnership with Santa Ana College. Yesenia’s focus on the
economic empowerment of minority communities is especially
helpful to our at-risk parents working to provide a future for
their families through the Family Mentoring Component of
Stepping UP. Congratulations, Yesenia!
Surviving Family
The Rodriguez Family Moves into OCCHC’s Santa Ana Poplar House
comfort, they possess greatly in love and
affection.
T
he Rodriguez family is a seven-member
household with one widow, five children,
and one grandson. They live in a 2bedroom apartment in a rough neighborhood of
Santa Ana, CA. Gangs and graffiti cover up
everything beautiful about the community. Last
year when the oldest daughter was pregnant
with her first child, a drive by shooting
occurred outside her bedroom window. She
crawled on the floor and cried long after it was
over. The police never found the assailants and
neighbors still live in fear.
The story of the Rodriguez family is one of
survival and fortitude. After their father died
painfully of cancer in November 2002, their
mother began working full time cleaning
houses. Half of her monthly income goes to
paying rent, and little remains for food and
school supplies. Living conditions are so
crowded that they literally sleep on top of one
another.
"Sometimes she comes home so tired that she
nearly falls off the bed," shares the eldest sister.
Two of the sisters, ages 8 and 7, share the
same bed with their mother. The eldest sleeps
in a bunk bed next door where she cradles her
8-month year old child on a small twin sized
mattress, below her 14-year-old sister. But
what the Rodriguez family lacks in material
Page 2
When you walk into the their home, you are
not walking into poverty, but into a loving
environment where family is key. They share
in both the burden and rewards of life. When
the eldest sister landed a job at a local
restaurant, they all benefited. She dedicates
her entire wage to better the family. At night
they gather around the dinner table and eat as a
family. They share daily events, upcoming
projects, and personal goals.
Stepping UP's contribution to the Rodriguez
family is invaluable. By moving this family of
seven into a four-bedroom home in a better
neighborhood and with much lower rent, the
Rodriguez family can live the “American
Dream.” They can begin saving money to
send their children to college and build a better
future. Stepping UP has assigned the family
an academic tutor free of charge. A college
student from an accredited university comes
into the home 8 hours a week and provides
support and guidance. This remarkable story
of a surviving family is one of the many
hallmarks that makes Stepping UP unique.
Because of your support and dedication to
OCCHC, our organization is able to target
those most in need and provide substantial aide
to improve their quality of life. If home is
where the heart is, then Stepping UP provides
the hammer and nails.
-Chidozie
Tutor House, Academic Mentor
Chapman University
* A special thank you to Mr. & Mrs. Bob Kline
who donated furniture for the rehab of the Poplar
House. Thank you!
**Names have been changed to protect identity
Beginnings
As OCCHC celebrates 30 years of service to extremely low-income families in 2007, we are
proud to celebrate the success of those striving to provide a better future for their families. The
2006-year was one of great success with its signature program, Stepping UP. The program’s
focuses on educating at-risk youth, college awareness and financial literacy & homeownership
have led students and families towards great achievements.
Tutor House Launches Spring Session
The Spring 2007 session of Tutor House recently launched with 100
students are being served through the assistance of 28 mentors.
Stepping UP recently hosted its parent orientation and training for all
“new” Academic Mentors. In 2006, Tutor House served a total of 130
students in need of academic assistance over two 14-week sessions with
94% of the students improving their academic success as a result of
working with a mentor just as Isabella has:
“When I began working with Isabella, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity
to speak with her teacher the first week of tutoring and her teacher told me that she
needed help with her spelling. We worked on spelling every session until test day
and Isabella has not received anything lower than a 90% on her spelling test.”
– Deanna, Tutor House Mentor
In 2007, Tutor House will work to serve at least 135 students with free home-based tutoring from
college mentors.
“Karina (parent) was very involved with her daughters. When I would arrive at the home she would
sit at the table with us and tried to help as much as she could. She graduated and received her GE
diploma in adult school because she wanted to show her daughters that education is very important.
She always asked the girls what they did at school. She always attended school meetings and was
aware of her daughters’ progress.”
– Nancy, Tutor House Mentor reflects on parent involvement
Pacific Life Foundation Supports Stepping UP with $10,000 Donation
We are pleased to announce that Pacific Life Foundation recently donated
$10,000 in support of Stepping UP. Pacific Life representative, Michelle
Myszka, presented the donation to OCCHC’s Erin Gunther at the January
awards reception. Thank you, Pacific Life Foundation. Your donation of
$10,000 allows us to continue to provide mentors to students working to obtain
a college education and provide a future for themselves and their families.
Family Mentoring Celebrates 8 First-time Homeowners
Family Mentoring found great success in 2006 with 8 families becoming
first-time homeowners. Twenty-five families were assisted in the Family
Mentoring component of Stepping UP. Two additional families have already
become first-time homeowners this year assisting in reaching our goal of
transitioning 9 OCCHC families to homeownership in 2007. Sixteen families
will join Family Mentoring this year through the provision of family mentors,
clinics emphasizing homeownership, budgeting & financial literacy, credit
counseling and job training & higher education.
Beginnings
Page 3
College Awareness Project Expands in 2007
In 2006, 35 CAP students spent their Saturdays to learn how they
can best succeed at obtaining a college education. Each CAP meeting
combined activities with the focus area of the month such as
leadership, personal improvement, career planning, community service
and cultural sensitivity, SATs and more. In addition, CAP students
attended 2 college field trips and volunteered their time at 3
community service events such beach cleanups and partnering with Families Forward to assist in
creating Thanksgiving baskets for families that would otherwise not have a celebration dinner.
In 2007, Stepping UP’s College Awareness Project will expand its service from 35 students and
mentor 70 underprivileged students in grades 7 through 12 to build
their awareness and spark an interest in higher education through
mentors, field trips, seminars, leadership training and more. CAP
will also expand its service with the addition of academic advisors to
the Stepping UP team who will work to connect with CAP students
on a weekly basis and assist with higher education.
The College Awareness Project is a place where underprivileged
students can join together and learn about how they can obtain a college education. It provides a
forum where students meet new friends with similar experiences and goals.
CAP Students Share Their Experiences
“When I came to the first CAP meeting I thought it would be boring, but it was actually fun. I
got to reunite with some of my old friends from Huntington Beach. It was really fun coming. I
love the community services and college field trips. I made a lot of new friends.”
– Diego
“One of the memories I have about this program is how I didn’t want to come to this program,
but now I can’t stop coming to meetings. I really enjoyed meeting new people and helping our
community by doing community service. I also learned things I didn’t know about college.”
– Gloria
“At first, I felt lost and weird. I have learned a lot. I have learned never to give up and to always
keep your head up. CAP has been there for me and helped me when I needed help… I love the
fact that the CAP staff will be there. I want to say thanks for everything.”
– Juan
“At our first CAP meeting I met new people and it was great. What I learned was that I could
achieve any goals in my life. CAP has made a great impact on my life because I start to do better
things. A funny story is when we went to the beach and everybody was singing. The thing I love
about CAP was how the staff treated us and how they inspired us. They told us that we could be
whatever we want in our life and how we could be someone important in our future. Also, I love
how Monica, Xochitl and Maggie have helped me to become a better person and care more about
our school and how I could achieve a lot of my future goals.”
– Omar
A Special Thank You to Our Current Stepping UP Donors
Weingart Foundation ■ The Breslauer-Soref Foundation ■ Pacific Life Foundation
Page 4
Beginnings
Cash for Grades Awards 53 Students at Bi-Annual RAC Meeting
Smiling faces filled the Garden
Grove Community Center last
month at the Resident Advisory
Committee (RAC) meeting where 53
students were awarded five dollars
for every ‘A’ and an additional five
dollars for each grade improvement.
OCCHC’s Resident Advisory
Committee joined together with
about 200 residents in attendance
for a meeting and a dinner provided
by don Miguel. Chair Emeritus
Amin David addressed our
“shareholders” and a number of service agencies volunteered their time at the RAC including:
The Garden Grove Police Department, Red Cross, Community Action Partnership, Washington
Mutual and Wells Fargo. The shareholders were briefed on all corporate issues and contributed
their recommendations on what OCCHC could do to improve. OCCHC does this twice each year.
South Coast Apartment Association
Supports OCCHC
OCCHC would like to thank the South Coast Apartment Association for supporting our
families with a donation of $3,659. This is the third year SCAA has donated to OCCHC and we
are most appreciative of their support that will allow us to continue to educate extremely lowincome families working to achieve self-sufficiency.
Bus Tour Highlights OCCHC Mission
OCCHC would like to thank the many guests for volunteering their Saturday to learn more about
our families at a bus tour held earlier in the year. The tour visited with the College Awareness
Projects at both Garden Grove and Huntington Beach and board members and community
volunteers were exposed to the wonderful works of OCCHC including housing projects. Guests
visited with a family in Buena Park and met the mom who recently obtained her GED, is now at
Coast Community and has been accepted to UCI; evidence of how lives change when they do the
“Stepping UP”. We are merely the “Lantern – lighting the way”.
Beginnings
Page 5
Board of Directors
Robert A. Johnson, Founder, Secretary
Crystal Sims, Attorney
Fr. Ed Poettgen, Priest
Amin David, Businessman
Antonio Nuñez, Oakview Mayor
Frances Torres, Resident
Sam Romero, Logan Neighborhood
Jim Cox, Educator
Mona Farraj-Fawaz, Attorney
Yesenia Velez, United Way
Lourdes Zamora, Resident
Alejandro Moreno, Counselor
Jonathan Ward, Lender
Doug Cesario, Developer
Susan O’Neil, Consultant
Jack Grady, Accountant
Saskia Knight, Chapman VP
To Build
and Serve
Advisory Board
Alfredo Amezcua – Amezcua and Associates
Bob Albertson – HOPE Housing of America
Holli Dorr – Hollister Construction Company
Howard Goldstein – Samuels, Green, Steel & Adams, LLP
Greg Arbues – Client Advocate Network
Jim Breslauer – Breslauer-Soref Foundation
John Erskine – Nossaman, Guthner, Knox & Elliott, LLP
Helen O’Sullivan – Wachovia Bank
Melody Winter Nava – Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Michael LeBlanc – The Irvine Company
Murray Zoota – Fremont Investment & Loan
Scott Greene – JD Pierce Company
Susan Hurford – Hurford & Company
Shirley Commons Long – Realtor
Wilfred Cooper - WNC & Associates, Inc.
Administration
Allen P. Baldwin, Executive Director
Nora Mendez, Deputy Executive Director
Paola Flores, Leasing Director
Erin Gunther, Development Director
Monica Cardenas, Stepping UP Program Director
Xochitl Gonzalez, Stepping UP Program Coordinator
Rudy Santacruz, Stepping UP Project Coordinator
Maricela Villa, Recertification Specialist & Family Mentoring
Coordinator
Diana Godinez, Office Manager
Celenia Perez, Administrative Assistant
Jose Linares, Property Manager
Martin Santana, Property Manager
Robert Lopez, Accountant
Diane Jackson McLean, Corporate Counsel
Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C., Auditor
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Beginnings
Orange County
Community Housing
Corporation
1833 East 17th Street, Suite 207
Santa Ana, California 92705-8629
714-558-8161
Save the Date!
Lunch, September 27, 2007
SANTA ANA, CA
PERMIT 1782