Laurel House, Inc.

By providing both long-term shelter and mental health care, the goal is to prevent homelessness for at-risk teens by reunifying them with their families or transitioning them into positive living situations. Our mission is providing a home for teens in crisis, transforming lives, and strengthening families. As a crisis intervention program, we focus on keeping the family unit intact without requiring the involvement of a public agency, such as social services. An average of 90% of the teens successfully transition back home with their families, and 10% are referred to a higher level of care when necessary.

In addition to basic necessities, the teen girls and boys receive: individual and family counseling, mental health care treatment and referrals, academic support, drug and alcohol prevention education, and live-in case management rather than a rotation of staff. The teens also complete daily chores, volunteer, and are given life enrichment opportunities focused on college readiness and independent living skills. Counseling and mental health care are essential to resolving the deeper rooted issues behind why teens become homeless, enter a life of substance abuse, or become victims of human trafficking or gang involvement.

Since 1985, Hope Harbor (formerly known as Laurel House) has filled a gap in services as the only long-term, preventative care program for at-risk, runaway, and homeless teens in Orange County, CA. Hope Harbor is also the only program providing accessible case management with live-in house parents, rather than employing a rotation of staff. As the needs of the homeless grew and evolved within the community, Hope Harbor expanded to create a second home for teenage boys.

President and CEO of Orange County Rescue Mission since 1992, Jim Palmer volunteers his time as the President/Executive Director of Hope Harbor. He has served as a local elected official, a County Housing Commissioner, and a Senate Confirmed Presidential Appointee. Through his various roles, Jim has grown to be a leading expert on the issues and needs of the homeless in Orange County, CA.

Donna Giddings, the House Parent for the past 25 years, lives at the Hope Harbor Girls Home with her husband, Steve, who works for the city of Tustin. As the county Licensed Administrator of both homes, Donna manages a schedule for the teen girls and provides live-in case management. In case management meetings, the teens create and track personal goals. These goals include maintaining sobriety, improving time management skills, expressing emotions in a healthy way, resolving family conflict, and adopting healthy coping mechanisms. Once the teens complete their case management plan, they will transition back home with their families or into another positive living situation.

Margie Diaz, LCSW has been the Hope Harbor licensed therapist since 2000, providing individual and/or family counseling to our at-risk teens and their families. She also provides mental health diagnoses, referrals to psychiatric care, and treatment of present mental, social or emotional issues. Margie has extensive training in Chemical Dependency, Child Abuse and Neglect, Case Management, Crisis Intervention, and Suicide/Homicide Risk Assessment. She has over 25 years of experience in a variety of settings working with youth and their families in Orange County and is the Executive Director of California Youth Services.
Derrick Burton oversees Hope Harbor as the Program Director. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Biblical Addictions Counseling has earned certifications as a Masters Level Registered Addictions Specialist (M-RAS), Masters level Drug, Alcohol and Addictions Counselor (MDAAC), AND Substance Use Disorder Certified Counselor III- Clinical Supervisor, (SUDCC III-CS).

Since 1985, Hope Harbor (formerly knowns as Laurel House) has helped prevent hundreds of teen girls from becoming homeless in Orange County. In March 2020, we opened our Rip Tide Boys Home, allowing us to provide direct services to teen boys as well. Last year, Hope Harbor has kept 11 girls and 5 boys from being homeless and provided family reunification and counseling services to 44 additional family members. We have provided more than 2,221 shelter bed nights, 300 case management sessions, 6,663 home-cooked meals, and 1,562 rides to school, volunteer opportunities, and activities. We also provided quality mental health care, which included more than 350 life-skills training sessions, and 469 individual and family counseling sessions.