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Community Corner

Photos: Orange County Rescue Mission Chili Van Drives South to Capo Beach

From now on, the charity group will visit the area weekly to feed and serve the homeless.

The Orange County Rescue Mission expanded its delivery of hot meals for the homeless into South Orange County, making its first stop Tuesday.

Forget "taco Tuesday," from now on, it's "chili Tuesday." 

The Rescue Mission's mobile chili van will set up shop every Tuesday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Capo Beach, in the parking lot across from San Felipe de Jesus Catholic Church at 26010 Domingo Ave. 

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On its inaugural visit, Mission staff estimated 50 men, women and children received a hot bowl of chili in the first hour alone. 

“The South Orange County area’s homeless population, especially within the Dana Point region, are currently severely underserved,” Jim Palmer, president of the Orange County Rescue Mission, said in a press release.

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“We partnered with Safe Harbor Ministries in an effort to reach those individuals who are hungry and in need of services in an area where services are often scarce. We are hoping this will not only help these homeless individuals, by providing them food and resources, but will also help to bring this need to light within a community that is widely unaware of the issue.”

Beyond the chili, the Rescue Mission provides hygiene kits and emergency homeless street kits. Organizers hope to add a mobile medical clinic and mobile legal clinic to the list of services provided each week, and are seeking volunteers and donations.

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