Life at the Southwood is hard for everybody. The rooms are tiny, meant to accommodate, at most, a small family for a few days of vacation. They’re not designed to house anyone, definitely not families, long-term. If your roommate is drunk or your kids are noisy, there’s nowhere to go.
And children aren’t allowed outside of their rooms.
And children aren’t allowed outside of their rooms.
It’s not that getting outside of your room is any fun; there’s pretty much only the parking lot outside. Or that getting out of your room is a particularly good idea; parolees, including registered sex offenders, are placed at Southwood.
Kids who live at the Southwood tend not to have many books or toys. Life at the Southwood is about getting food for the day, about having enough money each week to pay the rent. It’s not the kind of child-centered life that many Orange County children enjoy.
Enter Angela.
Angela is a living saint. She loves God and God’s justice with the same passion as Jesus. She has that numinous quality reported of people like Gandhi; you can feel God just being around her. At least, I can. She’s busy with a mind-boggling array of charity projects, when she’s not, at 77, shuttling some of her fostered or adopted children around. A year ago, Angela was able to convince the owners of the Southwood to allow a bunch of Lutherans to have a children’s time on Saturday mornings. And so, every Saturday, small groups of people from several north Orange County Lutheran churches take turns going to the Southwood armed with toys, books, and games. The kids get to play, they get a story and a craft, and a snack. People have donated clothing, toys, and books that the kids have been able to keep. Go, Angela!
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