Success Stories

  • Jennifer - When helping others means you may need help yourself.

    Jennifer recently relocated to Ladera Ranch from the Midwest in order to help her Mother who was undergoing treatment for cancer. When she could no longer stay in her Mother's apartment she called iHOPE for help with deposit money for an apartment. Jennifer had a portable section 8/disabilty voucher, however she did not have enough to afford the deposit. With the help of iHOPE's Homeless/At-risk Assistance Program, Jennifer was granted the deposit money, and she has now been in her apartment for 4 months.

  • Benny - On the road to recovery

    Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in San Clemente referred Benny to iHOPE. Benny's situation required intensive case management to help him transition from homelessness. The iHOPE Social Worker meets with Benny weekly to check-in on his weekly goals. The HEAP program provides funding for the Social Worker, his monthly bus pass (used for job search and attendance at AA and counseling sessions), and a small amount of rent for a room in a San Clemente apartment.

  • Mindy - Correct medical help makes a difference

    Safe Harbor Ministries referred Mindy to iHOPE. Mindy lives in a tent with her husband and suffers from depression. Mindy needed help paying for her medications and some emotional support as she searched for more permanent work. Mindy meets weekly with our Social Worker. She has found a full-time retail job and her husband is working in food service. Mindy has set up a bank account and is saving for a rental apartment.

  • David - Optimistic about the future

    llumination Foundation referred David to iHOPE from their Recuperative Care Program. David had been in the hospital for cellulitis and was diagnosed with prediabetes during his stay. David needed a longer stay in the recuperative setting before he was released. iHOPE was able to pay for an extra week in a motel. Our Social Worker has met with David weekly to help him with his MSI paperwork, seek out Cherokee and Pima Indian resources, and to seek employment and housing. David is still homeless, however he has help managing his healthcare and he is more optimistic about the future.

  • Rose - A giving grandparent

    Rose parents her 4 grandchildren. When she was laid off from her job as a Social Worker helping other homeless families she found herself unable to pay rent. Using her resource list she called iHOPE. Using HEAP funding iHOPE helped her bridge the gap with two months rent until her unemployment kicked in.

  • Mathew - Continual progress

    Matthew has been a client for more than a year. He has been a resident of the streets in Dana Point for many years. He began to feel ill around his 45th birthday. Upon hospitalization, he was diagnosed with rapidly worsening Multiple Sclerosis. After discharge from the hospital and Illumination Foundation's recuperative care program, iHOPE provided one month of motel fees while he learned a new medication regimen and visited doctors. Matthew's mother advocates for his disability status while the iHOPE Social Worker meets with him weekly to monitor his progress and follow-up with medication and doctor visits. Matthew hopes to move into a shared living situation soon.

  • Melissa

    Melissa and her brother and sister have been working with iHOPE since last October, 2010. They live in a mobile home and we have helped them with propane and many other basic needs. Last fall, Melissa was battling severe depression. We were able to connect Melissa with the South County Mental Health Association's Outreach Worker, who moved her into a board and care where she was helped with intensive services. Melissa is now medication compliant and she has her illness under control. She is getting her Shelter Plus Care housing voucher and iHOPE will be helping her with her apartment deposit.

  • Providing Medical Services to Those in Need

    The Mobile Multi-Service Center, located at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center – San Clemente parking lot, treated one of iHOPE's clients for an injured ankle. The client was admitted to the hospital immediately to stabilize his ankle. Being homeless, he needed a safe place to spend the night. iHOPE, with the help of St. Vincent de Paul of St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, provided a night at a local motel and transportation. The next morning, iHOPE also provided transportation for the homeless individual to a friend's house where he was able to extend his unemployment insurance as his ankle healed.

  • Finding Solutions

    In January 2010, a business owner in the North Beach area of San Clemente contacted iHOPE. Some of the homeless population in the area were panhandling potential customers, littering, and urinating in public. iHOPE organized a forum including business owners, service providers for the homeless, and the homeless individuals. iHOPE facilitated this forum with a lunch in a conference room provided by the City of San Clemente. A productive dialogue took place among all interested parties resulting in solutions that decreased the problems significantly. A local business owner gave a homeless man a job to help him on his way to self-sufficiency.

  • When options are running out

    iHOPE received a call from a man stating that he and his wife and three teen agers, did not have a place to stay. The family was going to be entering the Illumination Foundation's housing program in 3 days but until then had no where else to stay. iHOPE was able to pay for 3 nights at a motel. The family did not have to sleep in their car as they thought they would have to. The father has a job now and is looking for better opportunities toward the future.

  • Answering the Call

    • providing a tent for homeless people who's cardboard homes had been destroyed
    • providing sleeping mattes for the Capo Beach Calvary Emergency Shelter
    • distributing work gloves to the men in the Capistrano Beach area who were looking for jobs