HOMELESS PREVENTION
FOOD PANTRY, RENT AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE

Without any housing subsidy, low-income renters are continually confronted with the difficulty of choosing between the necessities of food, utilities, medicine or rent. At SCO, we believe that homelessness can be prevented by helping people to “stay housed”. That is why SCO has operated a homeless prevention program since 1989, supplying groceries from our food pantry as well as rent and utility assistance.

Providing supplemental food not only increases nutritional levels, but allows people to save their financial resources for other requirements. Likewise, assisting with one utility bill or one month’s rent is cost-effective compared to the price of an eviction. Here in Orange County, there are few affordable housing units and the fair market rents are high, which makes re-housing both difficult and expensive. Additionally, losing one’s home has a devastating emotional impact on every family member and may cause added problems such as unemployment, lost school time, malnutrition, or illness.

Our homeless prevention program helps families and seniors with the necessary assistance to retain their housing through a short-term crisis, and it does this at a significantly reduced cost when compared to re-housing or supporting a family in a shelter.

Call (949)380-8144, ext. 209 for more information