Chairman Andrew Do, his family and the First District team kicked off the holiday season at Carbon Canyon Regional Park with Reindeer in the Redwoods, a holiday event in Orange County's only Redwood Grove! At the end of the half-mile walk to the Redwood Grove was a Winter Wonderland, complete with Santa and live reindeer! Thank you to our OC Parks staff for a great family-friendly event. For more events hosted at our County parks, check out this calendar.

Chairman Andrew Do is hosting a Garden Grove Public Safety Forum in partnership with the City of Garden Grove and the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce. Chairman Do, Garden Grove Mayor Steve Jones, and Garden Grove Police Chief Todd Elgin will discuss public safety, homelessness and other concerns pertinent to the Garden Grove community.  After presentations, there will be a robust Q&A session to answer specific audience questions.

The event will take place at the Garden Grove Community Meeting Center from 6PM to 8PM on Friday, November 30, 2018. For more details, visit the event page on Facebook or call (714) 834-3110. Please RSVP, admission is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!

Last week, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved an additional $250,000 to expand the County’s Restaurant Meals Program, which provides meals to homeless, elderly and disabled residents who may otherwise go hungry.

Since February, Orange County has operated a pilot project that allows CalFresh participants to purchase meals from local restaurants in Santa Ana and Anaheim. More than three dozen Orange County restaurants have provided approximately 6,000 meals under the program.

As part of the County’s homeless System of Care, the program provides a necessary safeguard for people who lack reliable access to CalFresh grocery retailers, are unable to cook for themselves, or live without a kitchen.  Over 14,000 participants in the Restaurant Meals Program identify themselves as homeless.

Supervisor Do directed County staff to bring back plans to expand access to CalFresh for low-income families who don’t have means to store or prepare food or who may have limited access to grocery stories, farmers markets, and other providers of healthy food and instead depend on "quickie marts," which offer processed, sugar- and fat-laden foods .

County staff has worked with OC Food Safety Advisory Council and Orange County Food Access Coalition to educate the community about the program. Once the program reaches 150 restaurants, the Social Services Agency will reassess the next steps in expanding the program.

A full list of current participating restaurants can be found here. If you or someone you know may be interested in being a part of the RMP, more information can be found here.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors have unanimously selected Dr. Jeffrey Nagel to serve as the County’s new Director of Behavioral Health Services (BHS).

Dr. Nagel received his PH.D. in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of North Texas, and has most recently worked as our Director of Operations for BHS after building on the successes of previous positions within the Health Care Agency as our former Mental Health Services Act Coordinator and Chief Compliance Officer.

In addition, he brings to the role over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, varying from direct clinical services as a licensed psychologist to senior level management.

BHS oversees mental health and substance use programs for adults, older adults, children and youth as well as prevention and intervention services. BHS has been the team working directly with the homeless population at the Santa Ana Riverbed, the Civic Center and across Orange County to connect them to much needed services.

Chairman Andrew Do is proud to congratulate Dr. Nagel and looks forward to working with him to address the many health care needs of our County.

The Orange County Community Investment Division is welcoming a new Director of Workforce Development, Carma Lacy.

Prior to joining the Orange County team, she served as the Director of Policies and Initiatives for the Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio, where she was responsible for creating polices and implementing strategies to address education and workforce issues that impact local businesses and jobseekers. She brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success that will greatly the County’s Community Investment Division.

Additionally, Carma’s experience includes fifteen years in financial management and investment oversight with the Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corporation, the State of Ohio, Nationwide Insurance, BISYS Fund Services and Huntington National Bank. Carma is an excellent match for the job and a strong asset to the County team.

The OC Development Board and Community Investment Division offer a range of services including workforce development, dispute resolution, economic development, domestic violence resources, and more. If you would like to learn more about the Community Investment Division or the OC Development Board, visit the website here.