Lindsay Hirsch-Bale (pictured with husband Mickey Bale)
OPCC Board Member and co-founder of Feed Your Soul (www.feedyoursoul.org)

“In 2001, at the urging of my meditation and spiritual leader, Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, I found myself drawn to helping the homeless in our community. I was among a small group of individuals who began feeding homeless people four times each week in the parks and on the beaches of Santa Monica. Up until this time I never really knew anything about homelessness. While handing out food I would engage in conversation with homeless individuals, asking them about their lives and how they came to be homeless. It was in these conversations that I first heard about OPCC. Many of the homeless were obtaining help at OPCC – food, showers, laundry, picking up their mail and some were even seeing a case manager to obtain help locating housing and other much needed assistance. In 2002 the City of Santa Monica passed an ordinance that forbade feeding homeless persons outdoors in public spaces. Our volunteer group, Feed Your Soul, approached OPCC about moving our feeding program indoors at the old site of the Access Center. Since that time, Feed Your Soul has become part of the network of service providers that are committed to helping homeless individuals find stability and rebuild their lives. In January of this year I became a member of OPCC’s Board of Directors. After six years of involvement in the cause, I have grown much more knowledgeable about the challenges of homelessness, domestic violence and mental illness in our community. There is something each of us can do to address these challenges.”