Families Forward

08/27/2026

Place a bid, make an impact! Families Forward's Hope on the Horizon Silent Auction is now open. Every bid you place—on packages that range from unforgettable experiences to one-of-a-kind treasures—will help Families Forward provide housing, food, and other vital support to families working toward stability.

Jump in and let the bidding begin at: https://link.families-forward.org/auction

08/14/2026

Tickets are selling quickly for our Light Up the Night Gala 2026! Join us for an unforgettable night of celebration on the bay in Newport Beach - all while providing more Hope on the Horizon to local families: https://www.families-forward.org/gala/

08/14/2026

Thank you to our friends at Smart Circle, who spent a day packing a whopping 150 backpacks so that local students started the school year off on the same footing as their peers!

It takes leaders from every area of our community to create an Orange County where every family can thrive. Visit our website to learn more about how to make an impact: https://www.families-forward.org/gala/

Smart Circle employees came together to give back to our local comm...

08/14/2026

Celebrating our Service Navigation Manager Lisa as a 2026 Unsung Hero of the Year!

During a year marked by a significant increase in need of resources and support in our community, Lisa guided our Family Service Navigation team while developing thoughtful strategies to ensure families facing housing instability received timely and coordinated support.

Her leadership was especially important when a high volume of families at risk of eviction needed assistance. In one urgent case, Lisa coordinated prevention resources and community partners to prioritize a family facing the imminent loss of their housing. Her ability to navigate a complex situation and move quickly helped ensure the family received assistance in time and remained housed.

Much of Lisa's impact happens behind the scenes, where she supports staff, strengthens program processes, and keeps a client-centered approach at the heart of decision-making. Her thoughtful leadership is foundational to the responsive services and timely support families receive. Lisa exemplifies the steadfast leadership, humility, and deep commitment of an Unsung Hero. Thank you and kudos to our Unsung Hero, Lisa!

For Lisa Perez, being an Unsung Hero means guiding her team with steadfast leadership, especially when the need is greatest.

As Service Navigation Manager at Families Forward, she coordinated prevention resources and community partners to prioritize a family facing the imminent loss of their housing, moving quickly enough to help them remain housed.

Much of her impact happens behind the scenes, where she strengthens program processes and keeps a client-centered approach at the heart of every decision.

🔗 Read Lisa's story and meet all of the 2026 Unsung Heroes: https://u2eh.to/unsung-heroes

08/11/2026

Few California cities and counties are on track to hit state-set housing targets, no matter the affordability level. If this were graded, the state would abound in D’s and F’s.
..Irvine, like most California cities, is far behind. The city has permitted just 9% of the very low-income housing needed to reach its target by the end of the decade. For the next most affordable category, which refers to units priced for those earning up to 80% of the regional median, it’s at a mere 3%:

The state ordered every city and county to plan for 2.5 million new homes by 2030. With the exception of just five jurisdictions, no one is on track to hit their numbers. https://cal.news/4q7tLj2

📸 Zaydee Sanchez

07/22/2026

"Many families are just one unexpected expense, rent increase or job loss away from losing their homes. Providing emergency financial assistance, housing stabilization and supportive services before families become homeless not only helps keep children housed, but also keeps them in their classrooms, connected to their teachers and on track academically."

Read Families Forward CEO Christy Cornwall's Los Angeles Times Letter to the Editor in full:

'California has demonstrated bold leadership by investing in students experiencing homelessness. The next step is ensuring more families never reach that point in the first place,' writes an L.A. Times reader.

07/21/2026

“Hanna has a remarkable ability to create lasting impact for families, children and our entire organization. Some people manage programs; Hanna creates opportunities that change the trajectory of lives.”

Congratulations to Hanna Ibrahim, Families Forward's Affordable Housing Manager, for her nomination in the Orange County Business Journal's The Indispensables 2026!

Hanna leads the team that supports families and children in our/partner affordable housing units with programming, supportive services, and connections to resources. Families Forward celebrates Hanna's strategic leadership and hands-on action that lead to impact across Orange County for working families.

07/17/2026

Our amazing volunteers tested backpacks for sturdiness before we distributed them to ensure a quality Back to School experience for local students!

Join us during our LAST CALL for backpack and school supply donations by going to families-forward.org/back-to-school-giving. The donation deadline has been extended to July 20th and we are still in need of:

📓 Paper products (graph paper, spiral notebooks, journals, and lined paper)
📂 Pocket folders
🖌️ Thin markers
🎒 Backpacks (which are teacher- and volunteer-approved levels of sturdiness!)

07/15/2026

Half of Orange County residents who experienced homelessness point to one cause: the high cost of living. 🫂

51% of respondents said rising costs contributed directly to their housing loss. That's not a personal failing. It's what happens when wages stagnate and rents rise.

Homelessness isn't a choice. For too many of our neighbors, it's the result of a system that's stopped working for working people. We can do better, and we must.

Let's work together as a community to ensure everyone has a safe, affordable place to call home. 🧡

Data comes from the 2025 "Falling Through the Safety Net" report from the Orange County Office of Care Coordination. Learn more: ceo.oc.gov

07/15/2026

You can make a difference for families in our community who are working hard to provide fresh and nutritious meals for their children—but need a little help from their neighbors.

Join our partners at Grocery Outlet Woodbridge Village this month and together we'll ensure that more families in Irvine can celebrate Independence from Hunger. Your donation will go back directly to families we support with fresh food and meals!