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Darlene Martin, Community Member, shares her observations of MHA Village.

We are an organization that gives away free food, clothing, & household items to people in need.  Mark McDonald, MHA Village PSC started coming to us and getting furniture from us; We have given household items to many MHA Village members.  Recently we were lucky enough to receive a Golden Ducky Award for Community Spirit.

I just love the way the MHA Village works with people.  They don’t just dump people in homes.  They really work with them.  We work with every other social service agency in Southern California, throughout Orange County, Long Beach, and Los Angeles.  We work with DCFS, DPSS, Family Preservation, Multi service centers, Red Cross, School Districts, Wrap Around, Childnet, and more…  We are so impressed with the Village that we have even employed some of your members.  Some Village members work for us right now, and they’re great employees.

I see the way the MHA Village sticks with people, rewarding people and make them feel valuable.  Working with people as long as they need, working until people are a part of society.  I don’t know who hires the staff there but the MHA Village sure does know how to pick them.  The staff there fit so well together.

My own grandson was diagnosed with schizophrenia recently.  It makes me feel really good to see that services like what is available at MHA Village are out there helping people.

I myself got into Grateful Hearts through church.  God kept telling me to get up and help and I was trying not to but it just happened.  When we moved into this new building 7 years ago in July, it was just food and clothing.  Myself and some others started to go through every box and got a really good system going.  Then people started donating furniture and eventually we added local pickups.  I am in this work because God wants this for me, I wanted to do nothing but he wouldn’t let me rest until I did this work.