United to End Homelessness Launches “The Person in Front of You” Campaign

Orange County, Calif. (December 13, 2025) – United to End Homelessness, an initiative empowered by Orange County United Way, alongside more than 70 community partners and hundreds of community members, crafted a powerful visual display of support for hunger and homelessness awareness during an event held Saturday, December 13 at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine to bring attention to the escalating hunger and housing crises.

The crowd of hundreds of Orange County residents of all ages, including local leaders and advocates, wore matching The Person in Front of You campaign t-shirts as they arranged themselves in the shape of a home for a dramatic aerial photo captured by drone. The limited-edition campaign t-shirts were designed by renowned local artist Trevor Girard.

“We’re not gathered here just to take a picture. We are making a statement together,” said Becks Heyhoe-Khalil, Executive Director of United to End Homelessness, Orange County United Way. “It’s a symbol of what’s possible when we stand united, shoulder to shoulder, to say to our neighbors, ‘I am the person in front of you. I will advocate for housing and an end to hunger in Orange County.’ Together we embody what it means to care deeply for our community and to act on that. This is what collaboration looks like.”

Event attendees included Orange County United Way President & CEO, Susan Parks; Becks Heyhoe-Khalil, Executive Director of United to End Homelessness, Orange County United Way; Orange County United Way Board Chair, Lawrence R. Armstrong; United to End Homelessness Leadership Council Chair, Richard Sanchez; artist and designer, Trevor Girard; Director, County Executive Office, Office of Care Coordination for the County of Orange, Doug Becht; the Office of Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris; the Office of Irvine Mayor Larry Agran; Fast Friends Run Club; and more. In addition to the poignant image/live art, the OC Food Bank led a food drive at the event to collect nonperishable food items for local neighbors.

Orange shirts were placed over 1,000 stadium seats as a visual representation of those who are hungry. Each shirt represented 359 people, to depict the 359,000 people who are hungry every day in Orange County, Parks said. Heyhoe-Khalil shared that 17,145 people fell into homelessness last year, which includes 1,508 children and 1,540 seniors.

“Visual solidarity matters. When we show up together we remind one another that none of us is alone,” Parks told the crowd. “This display is a powerful reminder of just how many of our neighbors are struggling. This number is hard to ignore because it’s remarkable in its scale but it shows when we all come together… that we can provide resources, support, and solutions for families in need.”

The campaign is a call to action and county-wide effort to unite our voices in support for housing and hope, sending a powerful message that everyone should have access to both food and a safe and affordable place to call home. When prices increase, families are forced to choose whether to pay their for housing or buy food. These trade-offs create a ripple effect that fuels both food insecurity and housing instability, two crises that are deeply intertwined.

“Collective compassion is stronger than our current crisis. When we stay connected, when we keep showing up, we help to turn awareness into action. We can make sure that less people are hungry, and we can turn hope into homes,” said Heyhoe-Khalil.

ABOUT UNITED TO END HOMELESSNESS

Launched in February 2018, United to End Homelessness is led by a diverse group of leaders from Orange County’s top business, philanthropic, governmental, faith-based and nonprofit organizations – all committed to ending homelessness in our community. Our work is grounded in bringing the recommendations of the 2017 UC Irvine study “Homelessness in Orange County: The Costs to Our Community” to life, with Orange County United Way serving as the backbone of this new collaborative effort. Together, we are working to bring the issue of homelessness to the forefront of the community’s collective discussion and create civic engagement that will lead to meaningful and lasting results. Together we can and we will #EndHomelessnessOC.

For more information, please visit www.unitedtoendhomelessness.org.

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Media Contact: Elysse James, ejames@cornerstonecomms.com, (949) 667-1371