HomeAid Orange County Completes 44th Project

IRVINE, Calif. (Dec. 15, 2008) — HomeAid Orange County's 44th completed housing development will give the mothers and their babies of Precious Life Shelter a safe and beautiful home for the holidays. The addition of two, two-story buildings to the Los Alamitos campus will increase the capacity of the non-profit organization to provide homes and services for 36 homeless women and their infants.

HomeAid Orange County, a non-profit organization with the mission to build dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives, brought together Empire Homes, JZMK Partners, Borm Engineering, Hunsaker & Associates Irvine, Inc. and over 70 consultants, suppliers and specialty contractors to design and build this development, which includes five apartments, a meeting room and a new childcare facility.

In November, more than a hundred building industry and community leaders attended the dedication celebrating the completion of HomeAid’s fourth project for Precious Life Shelter. Russ Van Cleve, president Empire Homes told the audience it was a joy to work on this project. He thanked Stuart Hatch for the great job he did leading all of the construction and key staff members, Marc Gerber, Vicki O’Brien and Ish Alercon for their personal commitment to ensure the successful completion of Precious Life Shelter IV.

Recognizing the current state of the economy Van Cleve added, "It is a tough time for many of our sub-contractors. I salute their dedication and thank them for generously supporting this project."

Don Jacobs, president JZMK Partners and his firm donated their architectural resources to all four HomeAid housing developments with Precious Life Shelter. "It has been a privilege to be a part of these outstanding projects that have given mothers and their children a safe place to rebuild their lives," said Jacobs.

Theresa Murphy, Precious Life Shelter Executive Director expressed her gratitude. "Recently, in a ten day period five babies were born to mothers in residence at Precious Life Shelter. Because of HomeAid Orange County, Empire Homes, JZMK Partners and all our building industry partners these new families have a beautiful home to now begin their lives. We serve as the hands and the feet for those walking through our doors every day. We are deeply grateful for the generosity of the building industry that has given us our doors," said Murphy.

L to R: Richard Hunsaker, Hunsaker & Associates Irvine, Inc.; Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs, Landscapes International, Inc.; Scott Larson, HomeAid Orange County; Don Jacobs, JZMK Partners; Theresa Murphy, Precious Life Shelter; Russ Van Cleve, Vicki O’Brien and Stuart Hatch, Empire Homes.
Photo credit Robert Rooks.

Founded in 1989 Precious Life Shelter has helped over 1,800 homeless pregnant women regain stability and become self-reliant. HomeAid Orange County joined efforts with Precious Life Shelter and in1992 completed the renovation an existing structure into an emergency shelter, making Precious Life Shelter the only non-profit organization in Orange County to provide immediate emergency services to homeless adult pregnant women.

In 1997 new construction was completed on a two-story five-unit building which provides individual apartments for mothers and their newborns to live in while they receive job training and work toward self-reliance. In 2001 the third project was a multi-purpose building that provides secure living accommodations for mothers-to-be and a licensed infant care facility.

About HomeAid Orange County
HomeAid Orange County is the founding chapter of a national non-profit organization with the mission to build dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives. Founded in 1989 by the Orange County Chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, HomeAid acts as the housing developer and liaison between service providers, community volunteers, builders and specialty contractors. To date the organization has completed 44 housing developments that serve victims of domestic violence, pregnant homeless women, abused and abandoned children, homeless adults living with HIV/AIDS and homeless families.www.homeaidoc.org