TUSTIN, CA (July 8, 2003)

Oltmans Construction puts final touches on 7,500 square foot concrete slab, the first new construction at the Tustin Marine Corp Air Station. The Village of Hope, developed by HomeAid Orange County will serve homeless families and will be operated by care provider, Orange County Rescue Mission. The Village of Hope is the largest shelter development in Orange County history and is slated to be a model for future closed military bases nationwide.

This $10 million combination renovation and new construction project is being built primarily through donations and in-kind contributions such as the supplies and labor donated by Holliday Rock, American Rebar, Rebar Engineering, Minegar Contracting, Conco Pumping, and J&D Finishing Co. who contributed to this segment of the project.

As each phase moves forward Oltmans Construction, the "Builder Captain" for Village of Hope, in partnership with the Orange County Rescue Mission and the Building Industry's charitable arm, HomeAid Orange County, will continue to reach out to other suppliers and trades asking for their support. This outreach is at the core of the successful partnership model used to process all of HomeAid's shelter developments, and is largely the reason why more than 6,000 Orange County homeless men, women and children were provided with shelter in 2002.

When completed, the Village of Hope – a 130,000 square-foot facility designed by Gensler and Axcess Architects – will house a kitchen; dining areas; a donation intake warehouse; and an 8,000 square-foot auditorium/chapel; along with support office space that will provide the nucleus for the site. Additionally, the renovation of the top two floors of the existing barracks will house living quarters in configurations of single and family spaces, while the ground floor will accommodate medical offices, dental offices, vocational training, and childcare.

Operated by the Orange County Rescue Mission, the Village of Hope will provide a much needed service to aid families who have withstood homelessness together only to be torn apart in order to find shelter, as most shelter environments do not serve the family unit.

With a long history of giving hope, the Orange County Rescue Mission through the Village of Hope will provide dozens of programs offering food, clothing, guidance, counseling, education, job training, parenting classes, and childcare, while families remain in tact as they work their way back to a life of self-sufficiency.

HomeAid Orange County's ultimate goal is to add to the number of available shelter beds for a variety of populations including abused children; victims of domestic violence; women in crisis pregnancy; adults living with HIV/AIDS; the mentally challenged; and those families and individuals who find themselves homeless as a result of job loss or catastrophic illness.

The Village of Hope along with the 34 other completed HomeAid Orange County shelter developments are making headway in addressing the growing need to assist in to providing housing for the nearly 28,000 homeless men, women and children – many of them the working poor – trapped in destitute motels; living in cars; or making their homes in cardboard boxes on affluent Orange County streets, but there is still a very long way to go.

For information on how you can help, or learn more about the Village of Hope, please call HomeAid Orange County at (949) 553-9510 or visit the website at www.homeaidoc.org, or you may contact the Orange County Rescue Mission at (714) 258-4450, or access their website at www.villageofhope.org.