Safe house

Lolita Harper

Children who live at the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter in Costa Mesa

stay in apartments that are not their own, play with toys that are shared

and often wear secondhand clothes.

Garrett Zimmerman, 18, said the least he could give them was a place

they could call their own. Zimmerman, an Orange Coast College freshman,

built a playhouse at the shelter for his Eagle Scout project.

“The houses are so crowded, and it’s cool for the kids to have their

own space,” Zimmerman said.

Families at the shelter stay no longer than six months if they are

part of the transitional housing program, while others stay as little as

two nights. Many families are homeless, and some are women who are

escaping abusive partners.

The shelter provides a much-needed place to stay but cannot

accommodate certain luxuries, such as providing individual rooms for each

family member. Apartments are set up like dorms, with four families per

unit -- one family in each room.

Sheri Barrios, the center’s executive director, said the house was

built “with the imagination of a child and provides a warm, safe

environment for our children.”

The playhouse is bright and colorful, located next to the center’s

playground. The inside has trees, flowers and fluffy white clouds painted

on the walls and was designed by Zimmerman’s friend, Noel Sharpe, a

kindergarten teacher. Kids can sit on benches or bean bag chairs, or

write on the chalkboard while hanging out in the clubhouse.

Livio Campanotto, a transitional resident at the shelterand father of

three boys, said his three sons have enjoyed playing in the house.

“It has a lot of school-like items that they otherwise wouldn’t get a

chance to play with at home, since we are practically homeless,”

Campanotto said.

Zimmerman said he volunteered at the shelter with his dad while

attending Mater Dei High School. When it came time to complete his Eagle

Scout project -- a task that must be done to benefit a large sector of

the community -- he thought of the kids at the shelter.

“I’m so proud of him,” said father Robert Zimmerman.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .