Friendship Shelter aims to carry on legacy of founder Colin Henderson
For decades, Friendship Shelter in Laguna Beach has served some of Orange County’s neediest residents, helping them to get back on their feet and, ideally, back into housing.
It is a mission that started with the founder of the organization, Colin Henderson, who is remembered for his tireless work to promote human decency.
Henderson died on July 26 in England, where he had returned in 2017 to spend his remaining years with family. He was 87.
Friendship Shelter opened in 1988 and now operates five properties across South Orange County, including two in Laguna Beach. It has a bridge housing program located at 1335 South Coast Highway, and there is also an alternative sleeping location emergency shelter in Laguna Canyon.
Mia Ferreira, director of services for Friendship Shelter, shared what she’d learned about Henderson’s character through conversations with others who knew him.
She said she was told Henderson “was somebody who was very committed to the dignity of the individual, and that he wanted to be about programs and systems that promoted the dignity of the human being. Whatever your background ... [the shelter] would create spaces that would be inclusive for everyone and create dignified spaces.
Shelter and housing were viewed as a right for individuals, “versus something people had to work hard to get,” Ferreira said.
The ASL emergency shelter has raised cots, allowing its current inhabitants to store some of their belongings beneath their beds. Persons living there also have access to a personal locker, a backyard, laundry and case management services.
The ASL and bridge housing program combined can accommodate up to 30 people experiencing homelessness at one time.
Dawn Price, the executive director of Friendship Shelter, said the pandemic offered both hardship and opportunity for the organization. When state officials mandated the public to shelter in place, it drew attention to homelessness as a health emergency.
“Whenever I have hard things to do as a staff leader, I think about, ‘What would Colin do?’ and try to mold myself after him,” Price said. “I had the great, good fortune of working with him for many years, and the hardest thing we had to do was that day that Gov. [Gavin] Newsom put the stay-at-home order into place.
“We had to tell our staff to show up the next day and work in a shelter — a mass shelter — with people who may or may not understand the situation, may or may not have the capacity to be compliant with masks and other things. It was a big ask of our staff, and they responded.”
Community members have embodied Henderson’s trademark characteristic of human kindness, too, as Price said volunteers provide many of the meals at Friendship Shelter.
After spending three months camping in the hills surrounding Laguna Beach, Kirk Mackley, 51, said he has been residing at the shelter on South Coast Highway for about seven weeks. As the shelter’s upper level overlooks the Pacific Ocean, it has provided its own natural therapeutic elements.
“I’m getting medical help, … a psychiatric clean bill of health, and I’m going in for my physical in like a week,” Mackley said of how he has been able to regroup at the shelter. “I’ve gained a lot of weight, and the food is not fast food, so it’s really good, and I really enjoy having the different guest chefs come in.
“I encourage anybody who is interested in helping homeless people, instead of putting money in the tray, a better way to serve people is to try to pinpoint their needs, so you don’t find yourself enabling people in the wrong way.”
The bridge housing program has more residential look, with individual units, a living room and a kitchen. There is also a job board and listings for affordable housing across Orange County.
Price could not recall a moment of anger from the late Henderson, who in his early days as a priest at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Laguna Beach offered homeless individuals shelter within the church.
“I draw a direct line from the values and work ethic and compassion and care that our staff provides every day [to Henderson],” Price said. “… He started this organization with those kinds of values and that approach, and the humility that says that the person on the street or in your shelter knows more about what’s going to work for them and why they’re there and what they need than you or I ever will.
“We start first with listening, and that comes directly from Colin.”
Services for Henderson are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. Pacific Time) on Sept. 12 at St. Martin’s Church in Potternewton, Leeds. The family hopes to livestream the ceremony.
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