The Orange County Catholic Worker provides meals and other services to the homeless in the city of Santa Ana, California. [1] It also has been in involved in lawsuits about homeless issues versus various cities in California such as Los Angeles [2] and Tustin. [3]
Overview
In 1987, Jonathan and Rio Parfrey took their four kids and $20,000 to relocate to Santa Ana and opened the Orange County Catholic Worker Isaiah House. The house is located in Santa Ana’s eastside barrio on Cypress Street. The Isaiah House offers meals, shelter, bags of food, clothing, showers, and emergency assistance to poor and homeless people. [4] It also provides food to other soup kitchens and serves about 2,100 hot meals every week. [5] The organization is also frequently involved in various legal disputes over the rights of homeless people.
Legal Disputes
The OCCW filed a lawsuit against the city of Tustin and Orange County, California about administrative adjudications regarding the homeless. On October 26, 2018, the parties entered into a settlement agreement. [6]
The OCCW also filed a lawsuit against the city of Costa Mesa on January 29, 2018. This lawsuit would run until March 4, 2019, when the parties reached a settlement agreement that would result in the city establishing a 50-bed bridge shelter. [7] The organization has been involved in other legal disputes on behalf of the homeless with Orange County, [8] Los Angeles as an intervenor on behalf of the LA Alliance for Human Rights [9] and the city of Laguna Beach. [10]