Once homeless addicts living at the Santa Ana Civic Center, a couple celebrates newfound sobriety by getting married
Before landing at the Coral Motel in Buena Park on June 1, Barbara Pincheira and Christopher Ramos sold drugs so they could take drugs, feeding a ferocious heroin habit that kept them living at the Santa Ana Civic Center for half a decade.
They became friends and then a couple after meeting in the Plaza of the Flags homeless encampment. When authorities cleared the tent city in April, Pincheira and Ramos initially resisted offers of help from city and county outreach workers.
“We were slamming heroin in the dirt,” Ramos said. “Yes, we were those people.”
Then, finally weary, they entered a program at the motel run by the nonprofit Illumination Foundation under a county contract.
Friday marked a milestone: Pincheira, 38, and Ramos, 31, celebrated 77 days of saying “no” to drugs by telling each other “I do.”
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A wedding with all the trimmings — bridal gown and groom’s suit, decorations and flowers, food and confections — was made possible by donations from Illumination Foundation staff, advocates and the owner of a Brea bridal shop.
The couple were married in the backyard of a home in Stanton where Illumination Foundation provides emergency housing to families.
The short ceremony included passages from the Bible and heartfelt words exchanged by the couple before reciting their vows.
Ramos made everyone laugh with this line: “I love the way you talk to me and give me that special look. You can tell from my belly swell I love the way you look.”
Pincheira teared up as she expressed gratitude for having him in her life — before and after recovery.
“Our lives have changed so much that it’s unreal … You came into my life when all I wanted to do was die.”
She reminded him, “We are living proof that God can change people.”
The couple, who will hyphenate their last names to Pincheira-Ramos, began attending church services after going to the Coral Motel.
Family members in attendance included Pincheira’s brother, Casper Peña, who said relatives could not convince her to leave the streets, but remained there for her once she did: “I’m shocked … It’s all God. That’s what I feel.”
If marriage seems like a lot to take on so early in their sobriety — maintained through a methadone program — the couple say they now have the support to keep moving forward. They can turn to Illumination Foundation and a network of friends who once were homeless at the Civic Center or the riverbed and are also rebuilding their lives at the Coral Motel.
“We have each other and we have the program,” Ramos said.
Congratulations
Pincheira said previous issues with substance abuse returned when she was widowed seven years ago and struggled financially.
“I’m not going to lie. I started doing drugs and I became homeless.”
Both have criminal records that include misdemeanor and felony charges. Ramos, who said he once drew a paycheck doing construction and hopes to return to that work, came to the Civic Center after a year in county jail.
But the congratulations on their wedding day included a video message from a Santa Ana police officer who had been telling them to get off the streets.
After a few more weeks at the Coral, the couple will move into shared housing run by Illumination Foundation. After that, they can use a Section 8 housing voucher from the city of Santa Ana to get their own place. Support services will continue along the way.
“If we can’t get it together here when we have people watching,” Pincheira said, “we’ll never get it together.”