Dilan Oezkan has been homeless for most of his life. His family came to the United States from Germany, and for many years of his childhood he was moving from motel to motel. In fact, he and his family were featured in the 2010 HBO documentary “Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County.”

Dilan has worked incredibly hard to work his way out of poverty and on to a road of self-sufficiency.

Now a high school senior, Dilan Oezkan has thrived in his academics at Saddleback High School in Santa Ana, earning a 4.4 GPA. He started a part-time job with Chick-fil-A and saved up to be able to afford his own apartment in Santa Ana. And he is on his way to college after securing enough scholarships and sponsorships to attend this Fall.

Dilan hopes to inspire other homeless youth. His goal is to be able to give back to the many generous people and families who helped him get to this point in his life. It is incredibly inspiring to hear as an 18-year-old that he wants to take his success and pay it forward for others.

Congratulations Dilan on your success. Your positive attitude, work ethic and perseverance are inspirational to us all.

More affordable housing coming soon to Garden Grove!

After 10 years of waiting, the 8-story Great Rusty Skeleton in Garden Grove will become nearly 400 units of affordable senior housing.

Congratulations to the City of Garden Grove, AMG & Associates, the Hoag Foundation, Boys & Girls Club, and Foundation for Affordable Housing for making this project possible!

Congratulations to these students of Chavez Continuation High School on making the Honor Roll! We are proud to recognize your tremendous accomplishments and wish you continued success in all your future endeavors!

On Saturday, March 2, OC Parks, California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Angler Chronicles will host the anticipated annual Kids’ Fishing Derby at the North Lake at Mile Square Regional Park.

The lake will be stocked with more than 1,000 pounds of trout or catfish for the derby. Kids 6 to 15 years old can fish for free and attempt to win prizes and trophies for different age groups. The kid with the overall winning catch will get his or her name inscribed on the legendary Mile Square Fishing Derby Trophy.

Fishing clinics will be held on-site and a limited quantity of fishing rods will be available for loan. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Rain will not cancel event. Food will be available for purchase. Parking is free.
For more information: (714) 973-6600 or email milesquare@ocparks.com

Have you ever found yourself asking what to do with all those old batteries laying around the house? Good news, batteries can and should be recycled! Recycling all batteries not only helps the environment but can also help keep local workers safe by preventing fires at landfills and other recycling facilities. If not properly disposed, some batteries like those made out of lithium can be extremely volatile. In 2017, 65% of fires at waste facilities were the direct result of improper lithium battery disposal.

Although batteries can be recycled, they should not be placed in the recycling bin at home. Instead, here’s some great alternatives:

• Orange County residents can drop off their batteries off at any of our four Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection centers for free. Each center is open Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• When dropping off batteries at the collection center, be sure to pick up a free battery bucket to safely store any used batteries in your home until your next visit.
• Most residents also live within ten miles of a Call2Recycle site including local retail stores. Find one near you!

Want to learn more? Test your knowledge on battery recycling with this quiz  from earth911.com.