Our response to COVID-19 must be equitable. That’s why Supervisor Doug Chaffee, 4^th District, and I advocated for the creation of the Latino Health Equity Initiative, a partnership with researchers from the University of California, Irvine, and experts at Latino Health Access to address concerns of significant disparities.

We’re increasing testing sites, like the one hosted on July 6^th at Walker Elementary in Santa Ana, to ensure that underrepresented communities are not undertested. With the help of Families Together of Orange County, over 300 individuals were tested.

Thank you to all partners who made this initiative possible.

For more information on upcoming testing sites, follow Latino Health Access and the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Next Monday, July 13, MCS, our third-party administrator, will host three information webinars for residents who have questions about the District 1 Grant Program.

English Webinar 3:00pm - 3:30pm

Spanish Webinar 3:30pm - 4:00pm

Vietnamese Webinar 4:00pm - 4:30pm

If you have questions about the District 1 Grant Program you can now call our new hotline at (714) 657-3300 for answers and helpful tips for completing the application. Operators are available Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

For online assistance and to check if your small business or nonprofit qualifies for this program, please visit District1GrantProgram.com

Every year, our nation celebrates the 4^th of July across all fifty states. In this new world of COVID-19, our current restrictions may have limited would be plans and yearly routines, but it has not diminished our spirits or our patriotism.

I hope everyone had the opportunity to reflect on what is great about America, and to stand up for what we believe in. COVID-19 will continue to be a struggle for all of us, but let’s keep vigilant by washing your hands frequently, avoid big gatherings with people outside your household, use a cloth facial covering, and most importantly stay home if you feel sick.

We look forward to enjoy next year's Independence Day, together. May God bless you, your family, and the United States of America. Happy 4th of July!

If you are looking for a job and would like to use a laptop and internet to look for potential employers, check out the OC One Stop Shop center in Garden Grove.

The laptop will make it easier for you to find a quiet place to search while the free internet helps find that awesome job. For more information, call 714-480-6500.

Great news! American Family Housing was just awarded $4.5 million to help address the lack of affordable housing here in Orange County. This will be used to build the 71-unit Casa Paloma project.

Affordable housing continues to be a top priority for Orange County. Since June 2018, the Board of Supervisors has approved 1,652 units of supportive and affordable housing that are currently in the pipeline. Orange County is well on its way to meeting the goal of creating 2,700 supportive and affordable housing units.

For the Casa Paloma Affordable Housing project, the County has allocated a total of $7.6 million of direct funding, along with 48 project-based vouchers worth $19.2 million. This 71-unit community is expected to reduce the financial burden on local resources and is the type of approach we need if we’re going to get a handle on homelessness.

For more information, check out their website.

This is a friendly reminder to those who have not yet completed the 2020 Census that you still have the opportunity to do so online.

Know that by completing the census, it not only counts the human population, but provides statistical data to help allocate appropriate funding for services, and legislative redistricting. You count!

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2387119111590436

On July 1, my Office and Saddleback Church once again held another drive-thru food bank at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley. We were able to serve 1,700 families between the hours of 8AM to 11AM. 

Please continue to check out my Facebook for future dates. A big thanks to all of the staff, volunteers, as well as Rana Muncy from Saddleback for organizing the event and President Carmen Blake of the Brockman Institute for their generous donation of milk!