Chatham Village Apartments Community Filled Gratitude Towards Local Community Partners

TUSTIN, CA - During the busiest time of the year, Martha Venegas, our Orange County Director of Services, continues to assist the households at Chatham Village Apartments with securing enough food to comfortably enjoy the holiday season. In addition to the after-school program for youth and the adult education programs that features services such as computer literacy assistance, ESL lessons, financial literacy workshops, and health and wellness seminars, food distributions have become a prominent and heavily attended service at Chatham Village Apartments. Throughout November, the Chatham Village residents attended a total of six food distributions which comprised of five food distributions one distribution of the community's unique Park in Market program on the first Friday of the month. These food distributions are made possible through the help of Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, Tustin Parks and Recreation, and Tustin Family Youth Center who not only provide food supplies, but also helps during the distributions. In November alone, Martha recorded 114 residents visiting the community center to participate in the food distribution programs.

In preparation with Thanksgiving, Martha collaborated with local Orange County organizations to provide a proper Thanksgiving dinner for struggling households. Together with Tustin Parks and Recreation, the Tustin Police Department, and the Honeybaked Company, a total of 15 households received Thanksgiving essentials to be enjoyed during Thanksgiving. Martha also brough residents together to enjoy Thanksgiving as a community with Thanksgiving breakfast! The breakfast offered eggs, bacon, potatoes, coffee rolls, juice and much more foods and drinks for 84 residents to savor. Assistance from Tustin Family Youth Center, Chatham Village Apartment Management, and Giving Tree OC made the celebratory breakfast possible.

To add to the seasonal festivities, Martha hosted a special lotería event for the community to share cultures and play together. Everyone was invited to participate, especially the youth and those unfamiliar with the game. Scented candles, pencils and school supplies, as well as other prizes were handed out to lucky winners, courtesy of the Tustin Family Youth Center. The event saw an attendance of 12 residents who enjoyed the event and requested for more lotería in the future.

PSCDC is thankful for the exceptional service from local Tustin community organizations that assist Martha in providing essential services that residents have been requesting. For December, Martha is planning additional food services as well as winter- and holiday-themed events for the Chatham Village community that residents are excited for!