Share Our Selves

We are servants who provide care and assistance to those in need and act as advocates for systemic change.

Our Values:
LEAD WITH DIGNITY. We treat others as we would want to be treated.
CHAMPION JUSTICE. We advocate for change in structures and systems that unjustly and inequitably impact our community.
STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE. We do not settle for the easiest route, and we don’t shy away from challenge.
SERVE WITH HEART. We will show up for you with compassion, courage, and diligence.

Share Ourselves was started with one intention, how best to help our Orange County community. With that goal in mind, the Food Pantry opened its doors in 1970. Share Ourselves has grown along with our community, adding medical, dental, and behavioral health services over the years, while maintaining the Food Pantry as a core-service and a key element of our robust Social Services Department.

Annually, over 14,000 individuals of our community, maybe your friend or family member, accessed care and support services at one of our community health center sites. Many more received one of the nearly 90,000 bags of groceries our Food Pantry volunteers packed. Still, many more join us as a volunteer during the Holiday Season so many in our community could have something special during the holidays including food on their table.

From serving as a comprehensive healthcare provider, to offering social services like financial assistance and food distribution, our approach considers all that it means to be healthy.

At Share Ourselves we consider everything is health.

And Health Is Everything.

Share Ourselves has been working across every sector of the organization to expand our capacity to meet our commitment to provide access to care and support services for underserved populations in Orange County.

In early 2024, we effectively doubled the ability of our Mission Viejo site to provide care and treatment for our patients. We increased the number of medical exam rooms from four to eight – and added dental and behavioral health (BH) services. Both of which, were not previously offered in Mission Viejo before the expansion. With this new point of access, 3300 patients in Mission Viejo (number seen in 2023) will have oral health and behavioral health services that are affordable, linguistically accessible, in their community.

On August 10, 2024, we officially cut the ribbon on Share Ourselves at BESST Center. We partnered with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District to start a school-based community clinic on District grounds in Costa Mesa. BESST is now open to the Newport Beach / Costa Mesa community and will have medical and behavioral health services available.

We have increased our focus on behavioral health services across all sites. We have applied for funding that would increase universal screening for depression, anxiety, and substance use with all patients and for early childhood development screening for pediatric patients. Our goal is to achieve true integration with an onsite behavioral health consultant (BHC) at each of our locations with an ideal ratio of one full-time BHC per four to five medical providers.

Giving back is health!

By donating to Share Ourselves you not only help us provide healthcare and social services that make our patients healthier, but you can make yourself healthier too! In 2020, a study indicated that people who give to charity are happier. And happier people are healthier people.

COMPREHENSIVE CARE IS HEALTH.
We provide medical, dental, pharmacy and behavioral health care to everyone who needs it, regardless of ability to pay.

EDUCATION IS HEALTH.
Our Back to School backpack distribution are First in Family College Readiness program help ensure that every child – kindergarten through college – has the tools they need to focus on their education.

FOOD IS HEALTH.
We currently provide over 400 bags of groceries a day to those trying to stretch their budget and feed their families healthy, nutritious meals.

FINANCIAL SECURITY IS HEALTH.
Share Ourselves provides limited rent and utility assistance to those who may be between jobs or otherwise need an additional safety-net in the hope of reducing risk of homelessness.

Share Ourselves at Costa Mesa 1550 Superior Avenue
Medical; Dental; Behavioral Health, Pharmacy, Social Services & Food Pantry
Share Ourselves at BESST Center 2045 Meyer Place, Unit C, Costa Mesa
Share Ourselves at Newport Beach Children and Family Health Center
307 Placentia, Suite 107
Share Ourselves at Newport Beach/Dr. Robert & Dorothy Beauchamp Children & Family Dental Center 307 Placentia, Suite 202
Share Ourselves at El Sol, 1014 N Broadway, Santa Ana
Share Ourselves at Mission Viejo 27725 Santa Margarita PKWY, Suite 101
Share Ourselves Mobile Unit Serves various locations
Administrative Offices, 20151 SW Birch Street, Suite 100, 200, & 225, Newport Beach

Share Ourselves mission for the last 54 years is that we are servants who provide care and assistance to those in need and act as advocates for systemic change. We have evolved over that time to identify and meet the needs of individuals in seeking health care and supportive assistance to provide the safety net for working families and our most vulnerable neighbors. As an organization we never lose hope of the impact of our work and we remain laser-focused on trying to be a part of our community’s health and wellness. Over the last few years Share Ourselves has worked hard as an organization and in partnership with other community organizations to provide COVID testing, vaccinations, direct services to reduce illness, as well as social services to reduce the burden placed on so many individuals and families in need of help. Through these efforts we became an even more integral part of helping to move our community out of the pandemic and into a state of wellness. We know that so many in our community see Share Ourselves as a place of hope in routine and urgent health services, and social services as they are faced with struggles along the way. Share Ourselves couldn’t perform all the array of services without the generous assistance from those in the community that have supported our work over the last 54 years. We are so grateful for the passion and love that you bring to support the current and future work of Share Ourselves.

Share Ourselves was founded in 1970 by a small group of local families with a singular purpose – to serve those in need in our community.
Over fifty years later our mission remains unchanged. Today our volunteers regularly distribute over 400 bags of food daily to individuals and families facing food insecurity. Our rental and utility assistance programs keep families in their homes and the lights on. Our trained caseworkers help those in need access resources and navigate language and logistical barriers which may range from helping a grieving family cover burial expenses to applying for benefits for a homeless veteran.
We strive to make our programs and services responsive to the needs in our community. With community partners like Hoag, in 1984, we opened a small medical clinic to provide free medical care to those in need. Today, Share Ourselves operates one of the largest Community Health Center organizations in Orange County. We provide comprehensive primary medical, dental, and behavioral health services to approximately 14,000 unique individuals each year regardless of insurance or ability to pay. We turn away no one.
Today the need for our services is greater than ever following the pandemic, with rising housing, food and energy costs that has created an unbearable burden for many families and individuals who were already struggling to make ends meet. Of course, those same factors have increased our costs as well, but we are determined to meet the need.
For me, Share Ourselves has always been more than a non profit. It is a pathway to witness the goodness of people in our community.