You can take part in annual Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Month

In recognition of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month, Laguna Beach residents are invited to share with their neighbors who are experiencing hunger or homelessness.

Gail Duncan, longtime member of the City of Laguna Beach Housing and Human Services Committee and the week’s organizer, said, “During this month of sharing, we want to address the needs of those experiencing hunger and homelessness. Our committee seeks to partner with local safety net nonprofits that address these issues that were made worse by COVID-19. Friendship Shelter and the Laguna Food Pantry administrators, staff and volunteers work hard every day of the year to meet some very basic human needs that many of those who live with abundance tend to take for granted.”

Friendship Shelter works to end homelessness for our community's most vulnerable neighbors through permanent housing solutions. This year alone, the organization has helped 89 people move out of homelessness and into housing. Its ambitious goal is to house the next 100 people by June 2022. Using funds directed from the federal COVID-19 response, Friendship Shelter anticipates using 100 Emergency Housing Vouchers intended for our community's most vulnerable neighbors experiencing homelessness.

Dawn Price, executive director, noted, “While these vouchers cover the cost of housing, Friendship Shelter knows that housing alone isn't enough. That’s why we’ve launched a campaign, The Next 100, to raise critical funds to pay for essential services to ensure that each person in housing has the support they need to remain safely and stably housed.” For more information on The Next 100 or to make a donation, visit friendshipshelter.org/thenext100

Assisting with the daily needs of our community’s unhoused neighbors, the Laguna Beach Girl Scouts is collecting unused toiletry items to make into individually packaged hygiene kits for guests at Friendship Shelter’s Bridge Housing Program on Coast Highway, the Alternative Sleeping Location (ASL) Emergency Shelter, and other community organizations that provide homeless services. A collection box is available for donated goods outside the Laguna Beach Girl Scout Program Center at 190 High Drive through Nov. 29. The Girl Scouts are collecting these items:

• shampoo and conditioner (travel size)
• individually wrapped bars of soap
• deodorant
• toothbrushes
• toothpaste (travel size)
• small bottles of moisturizing lotion
• sunscreen
• lip balm
• disposable razors
• feminine hygiene products
• brushes and combs
• small tissue packages
• Band-Aids

Laguna Food Pantry executive director Anne Belyea said her organization went from serving 80 to 100 people per day in 2019 to a record high in 2020 of 342 people on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving of last year. She noted, “Although the surge in demand has dropped, the struggle for many families remains. An average of 150 people a day rely on the Pantry for accessing sufficient food.” Needed shelf-stable items include pasta, canned tuna, cereal, and other staples. A complete list of food items and how to donate them can be found at https://www.lagunafoodpantry.o...

Orange County’s United to End Homelessness, an offshoot of Orange County United Way, is again spearheading the annual observance, using it “to help our community understand how we can solve homelessness in Orange County.” For year-round, free informational online classes and ways to help, visit www.unitedwayoc.org or call 949-660-7600.