Looking Back, Thinking Forward

In an evening filled with nostalgia, more than 150 party-goers went Back to Balboa--the historic Balboa Pavilion--to celebrate the history and growth of the Mental Health Assn. of Orange County.

With its creaky hardwood floors, vintage photographs and romantic view of Newport Bay, the 91-year-old pavilion on the Balboa Peninsula helped put guests in a sentimental mood for the association’s 11th annual dinner-dance and auction Saturday. The $100-per-person gala was expected to net about $20,000 for the Orange-based agency, which provides services for the mentally ill.

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A Founder Remembers

Party organizers chose Back to Balboa as the theme because the area has been the site of past association fund-raisers.

“It’s like coming home,” said Victoria Glass, event chairwoman, who was accompanied by her husband, Don, and daughter, Kari.

The committee played up the nautical motif by draping the tables in blue and white cloths sprinkled with gold stars. Guests dined on chicken, steak, Caesar salad and assorted cheesecakes. They later danced to big band music by the Liberty City Ensemble.

Carol Burby, the MHA’s executive director, paid tribute to 82-year-old Pessa Klipstein, who helped found the association in 1957.

“Orange County was a small town back then,” Klipstein said. “There was no place for people to go if they had a mental illness.”

At the time, Klipstein--a medical illustrator--joined forces with a handful of nurses, doctors and others concerned about people with mental illness. They started the association, working out of a small office in Santa Ana.

“We had one telephone where people could call for help,” Klipstein recalled.

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Looking Forward

The association has grown from a grass-roots resource and referral agency to one that provides a variety of services, including homeless outreach and Social Security assistance programs. Many of those with mental illnesses are homeless.

“We find them jobs and housing,” Burby said. “Our philosophy is we want to improve their quality of life.”

The local association has an annual budget of more than $1.2 million and serves about 5,000 people a year.

“People have no idea how serious the problem is in Orange County,” Glass said. “Four or five years ago a study showed there were about 30,000 [mentally ill] people on the streets in Orange County. There could be more.”

Also among those attending were Catherine Winans, event co-chairwoman; Ellen Lewis, board president, and her husband, Jim; Chuck Dreyer, auctioneer; Eugen Andres, past board president, and his wife, Ann; Mary Anderson; Susan Burden; John Garrett; Marty Fuca; Richard Newby; Lester Goldstein; William Callahan; James Parkhurst; Allan and Sandy Fainbarg; Bill Schaddle; Martine Pierro; Chad and Beth Costello; Gerald and Annette Fried; Philip and Nancy Bichai; Steve and Janet Brunette; Jack and Linda Graham; and John and Penny Valenzuela.