Elena and Joe Gomez joined us at the family shelter in the fall of 2024 along with their two daughters, ages 12 and 8, and one son, age 6.  Bad credit was keeping them from securing quality jobs and permanent housing. A breaking down van, which they were living out of, made it difficult for the family to get to work and school reliably. Though they knew the journey ahead was not going to be easy, Elena and Joe knew it would be worth it, for the sake of brightening their children’s horizons.

After settling into their room at the family shelter, Elena and Joe got to work with their case manager on establishing more stability for the family, saving money, and finding better jobs.   

Early in their time at the shelter, Interfaith was able to assist the Gomez family to:

• Get their needed van repairs
• Enroll their 3 children in school and ensure daily attendance
• Improve their credit score by +200 points
• Secure 2 part-time jobs for Elena, one in retail and one at a school cafeteria
• Find a stable job for Joe in the construction sector

Now, with their pressing daily needs covered, the family shifted their attention to a more daunting task: finding permanent housing. Following weeks of denied applications and heightening discouragement, Elena walked into yet another apartment office seeking what she called “a holiday miracle”. Fortunately, after speaking with the apartment office manager and sharing her family’s story, the manager decided to waive the application fee! After diligently completing the application, they were approved for a lease.  

With connections forged by their family shelter case manager, and through tireless efforts of the Gomez family, the family of five received:

• A waived application fee for housing, ultimately resulting in a new home
• A 2-bedroom apartment in Vista
• First month’s rent and housing deposit, provided by Interfaith  

Today, you can find the Gomez family living out of their new apartment, building off the foundations they laid while at the family shelter. Elena and Joe maintain their jobs. The children are excelling in school, making friends and catching up on their studies. Their older daughter just returned from a fun and adventurous time at 5^th grade camp.

This family of five has encountered significant struggles over the past two years. After the loss of their young son, this family was paralyzed with grief, compounded by an injury to their father which prevented him from being able to work and eventually leading to them losing their home.

For two years, this family lived out of their vehicle. They then connected with Interfaith, moved into our Family Shelter, and began the hard work, in partnership with their Interfaith case manager, of regaining their independence and stability.

Though Interfaith, the family has received:

• Therapy for the entire family to help them work through their traumatic past
• Identifying and applying for housing
• Deposit and first month’s rent
• Helping them understand budgets and credit, raising their credit score significantly
• Furniture for their new home

After being on a waitlist for several months, this family was approved and has moved into a 3-bedroom, 2-bath low-income apartment that provides a safe, stable environment for their two teenage daughters and their 8-year-old son who has epilepsy. 

Despite their difficult situation, mom has been persevering in the pursuit of her educational goals and is in her final year of college. When she graduates with a bachelor’s degree next year, she plans to become a counselor to assist people who have undergone similar challenges. She’d also like to become a policy advisor to share her experiences and advocate for people in need.

In addition to her college courses, Mom works part-time, and Dad recently recovered from his injury and is once again working full-time. 

Alexandra entered Interfaith’s family shelter in October of 2024, fleeing domestic violence and 5 years of living on the streets. She brought her two young babies, who were born into homelessness. With a safe, warm place to sleep at night and dependable nutrition for her twins, Alexandra could look toward the future and choose a brighter path. 

In case management, Alexandra mentioned that she has a grandma and Aunt in Iowa. Alexandra quickly came to the realization that reconnecting with her relatives would be the best option for their futures. The case manager helped contact and organize a virtual meeting with Alexandra’s family so that they could reconnect; Over time, they began discussing the possibility of Alexandra temporarily moving in with her grandma. Not only would this allow Alexandra to have a stable home, far removed from her abusive past, but she could count on help with childcare, tend to her own mental recovery, and find a job right away. 

The arrangement was agreed on, and the bus tickets were booked. Case managers provided her family with food and other basic needs for their journey. In December, the family successfully made the trip, and they’re off to a fresh start in their new city, supported by family.

Bree connected with Interfaith for the first time 5 years ago. She and her 5-year-old daughter, Hope, were fleeing domestic violence. After obtaining a place to stay with Interfaith’s Permanent Supportive Housing Program, she immediately began charting the course forward with her Case Manager.

Together with the long-term support of her Case Manager, her faith, and your unwavering support, Bree has:

Gotten her driving record expunged and regained her driver’s license

Diligently worked to pay off her debt and ultimately saved up to purchase a car
Result: Bree can count on reliable, safe transportation to and from work and her daughter’s school

Transferred from community college to a 4-year university
Result: Bree Graduated with a degree in Sociology, drastically expanding her career prospects 

Today, Bree maintains stable employment and housing. She prioritizes focusing on her mental health in order to stay on track. She is described as resilient, good-natured and a devoted mother. In her free time, you can find her volunteering at church, reading non-fiction, and participating in support groups. Hope, who is now in 4^th grade, enjoys playing outside with friends, arts and crafts, playing Roblox, and watching movies with her mom.

Martina, Jeremy, and their teenage daughter Francesca were housed stably, with both parents working full-time. Martina became pregnant and complications required her to take a leave of absence from her physically demanding job.

Soon after, Jeremy suffered a series of strokes that caused a dramatic loss of vision and mobility. He was placed into a rehab center and the family ended up losing their home. They eventually found shelter in a shed on a friend’s property. The shed had no running water or electricity and was very cold.

Martina reached out to Interfaith and shared that neither her nor her daughter was able to shower or have a bed to sleep in. The high-risk pregnancy made it especially difficult for Martina, and Francesca was suffering from stress of the situation as well as worry that her friends would find out her circumstances.

Interfaith’s case manager was able to get the family immediately into Interfaith’s Family Shelter. The following week, Martina was able to get a less stressful job that she could work while pregnant, as much as her doctor would allow. Now, with Jeremy back and taking care of the baby while Martina and Francesca work full time, and the family is once again stably housed.

The following is an email update the family’s case manager received: “You literally saved my family’s lives. I went back to school and became a certified sexual abuse counselor and domestic violence counselor and a registered behavioral technician to help teach children with special needs. We now have an apartment and a car. We wouldn’t have been able to do any of that without you, you are the biggest blessing.” 

Andrea came to Interfaith after becoming homeless with her two children. She had fled domestic violence and was living in her car while on the waitlist for a safe parking program.

Andrea was employed full-time as a manager at her company and could afford monthly rent but lacked the savings to provide a rental deposit. Her Interfaith case manager worked to help Andrea find an apartment. Once she was approved, Interfaith’s Make-It-A-Home program provided move-in assistance and furnished her apartment with community donations. Interfaith funding also paid for her rental deposit as well as one month’s rent, to allow Andrea the opportunity to start a savings account. Andrea and her children are now safely and stably housed. 

Shaina was raised in what she describes as a “tough upbringing.” She became involved with drugs and alcohol at the age of 15 and had her first child at the age of 17. When COVID hit, Shaina lost her job. It was only a matter of time until she and her 3 children were living out of their car. Despite reaching out to everyone she knew, things felt hopeless for the future of her family.

Upon connecting with Interfaith in early 2023, she was matched with a case manager who helped her to:

• Achieve sobriety
• Secure housing
• Regain stable employment

Today, Shaina, her husband, and their three children have achieved self-sufficiency, and she is excited to announce that she just received a promotion at work! Watch Shaina’s story in her own words here.

Today our prisons and jails are meant to be used for rehabilitating individuals and preparing them for re-integration into society. But what if that rehabilitative work was already happening somewhere else, would it make sense to move those individuals to a jail to restart the rehabilitative process? That’s the decision a judge had to make when one of the families at Interfaith’s shelter had their day in court.

When a family of 6 entered Interfaith’s shelter a few months ago, Dad, Eric and Mom, Betty had some pending legal issues, but that didn’t stop them from immediately working to turn their lives around. Soon after finding Interfaith, this family was connected to therapists who helped them navigate issues that could lead to trouble with the law. They found childcare to begin their employment search, attended life skills and group workshops to learn valuable lessons and receive essential information they had never previously had access to. Their four children were also connected with mental health resources, and the youngest was enrolled into an at-home Transitional Kindergarten program to help mom and them bond more. With a new perspective on how education can help shape your future, mom also enrolled in college and dad found steady employment when he had a previous history of being unable to do so.

They finally have a savings account and it’s growing every payday! This is the first time in their lives that the Jacobs family says they have had this mindset. Lastly, they’re also working to increase their credit score to prepare for life outside Interfaith’s shelter. Thanks to the family’s attorney, who presented the judge with all of this information and who highlighted the key role Interfaith’s shelter has played in the Jacobs family’s journey, they saw no reason to pull them apart and send anyone to jail. Many charges were drastically reduced, and the family was allowed to continue their remarkable progress alongside our dedicated team.

When mom Josie and her two boys aged 6 & 14 found Interfaith’s family shelter, they were in a unique situation. Josie had been suffering from a decades-long law infraction on her record that had prevented her from obtaining full-time employment. Her boys also needed a stable place that would give them the opportunity to be kids again after couch surfing for some time.

From the start of their stay with us, it was clear that if Josie and her boys were to attain self-sufficiency, Josie would need to access full-time employment. Thus, began work on the family’s first obstacle, processing paperwork and applications that would help expunge Josie’s record of prior convictions. Our staff also began sending out letters to people who could help with Josie’s case, advocating for the family, and they made sure to include that they were model residents at our shelter.

While at Interfaith’s shelter, this family was able to save up money even though Josie was only able to work part time. They also benefitted from a safe space where the kids could get caught up in school and attended workshops that would help them understand and overcome the stigma of being homeless. The process of getting Josie’s record updated to help her secure full-time employment took some months and unfortunately coincided with their 6 months stay limit at our shelter, but our staff never gives up on our families. They were instantly connected with other programs at Interfaith that helped Josie pay for a stay at a hotel, although she had to use some of the savings she had built up while at the shelter.

It wasn’t long after exiting our shelter that our team received the great news that Josie’s legal record had been updated and she could now transition to full-time employment, which she immediately did. Now that Josie was working full-time, our staff could work with more of our landlord partners to find and secure housing for the family. In September, we’re happy to share, this family moved into a place of their own and Interfaith even helped fully furnish it!

Although Josie was working hard to keep a roof over her family’s head, the mistakes of her past were preventing her from achieving her goals. Thanks to friends like you, Josie and her boys had time to work with our team to overcome obstacles and most importantly, find a second chance at self-sufficiency.

Marianna was mother to Becca when she experienced domestic violence by her partner. After fleeing the relationship, Marianna met and married Troy. This family of 5 (girls ages 4, 2, and newborn) were experiencing homelessness and living in their car. Troy worked full-time during this period but they were unable to afford housing.

To provide stability for their family, Troy decided to register for the military. Around this time, the family was referred to the Family Shelter and entered our program. Through case management, Troy and Marianna have been working diligently to improve their credit scores, which helped become eligible for more housing. They have also begun the process of signing Becca and Tasha up for preschool. Troy and Marianna attended and participated in our workshops here at the shelter to improve their life skills.

Interfaith provided the family with:

• Help finding childcare/preschool
• Employment search
• Moving costs and supplies

Staying in Interfaith’s Family Shelter allowed the family to save for:

• Rental deposit and first month’s rent
• Car loan and car insurance payments,
• Money for food when they first move in
• Clothing furniture, housing goods, baby supplies

Troy recently entered basic training and Marianna has secured stable housing for her and her girls while he is away. Marianna is currently getting her GED and taking child development classes with the goal of becoming a teacher.

The Soto family consists of Mom, Dad, and four children ages 18, 14, 2, and 7 months. They were all living in a single room. Dad was working construction full-time but his hours were greatly reduced as a result of this winter’s rains. He was able to find and currently works full-time at a restaurant, while Mom is full-time with Amazon. 

In February 2024, this family, on the brink of eviction, came to Interfaith for help. In the “it takes a village” spirit, their Interfaith case manager worked with another local nonprofit to help the family find, apply, and pay first month’s rent on an apartment. 

Your support of this family also provided:

• Gas vouchers to help Mom and Dad get to work and medical appointments
• Food, hygiene, and baby supplies (diapers, wipes, etc)
• Move-in assistance including furniture and basic household items
• Ongoing case management

The Sotos are now comfortably housed and their Interfaith case manager continues to check in and make sure the entire family is stable and children are thriving. Through the parents’ full-time employment and their case manager’s help to enroll in govermnent programs including like MediCal and CalFresh, the family is once again well on their way to regaining full self-sufficiency. 

John was living on the streets last year, battling addiction with seemingly no way out until he found his way to Interfaith Community services. After a few weeks of finding a consistent food source through our free sack lunch program, he trusted our staff enough to ask for help. Once connected to our Recovery and Wellness center, their journey towards overcoming addiction began.

After some months in Interfaith’s Addiction and Recovery program he was gainfully employed and informing our staff that, for the first time in a long time, he was excited about his future again. John eventually graduated from the program, and while he was making great progress, he still needed a place to stay with his family while saving up for a deposit on a place of their own. This is when we connected them to the Family Shelter you helped create.

At the Family Shelter they’ve been able to access resources such as childcare, support from behavioral health teams, employment support, and apply for health benefits for their family. Every day, our team works to adequately prepared them for a life of self-sufficiency once again. Now, we are happy to say this family is nearly exiting Interfaith’s programs and services and they wanted to share their journey with the people who were there for them when it all seemed impossible and hopeless, YOU.

You can see their journey firsthand through this impactful video and remember that this is only possible, thanks to the network of support you create through your kindness, generosity, and compassion. Thank you!

Gary, a single father and his son, Eli, were struggling on the streets while living out of their vehicle. Due to Gary’s overnight work schedule with long hours, dropping Eli off at school was not always possible. When Eli did make it to school, he was often tired, having been unable to sleep comfortably in their small vehicle overnight.

Upon entering Interfaith’s family shelter, our team quickly worked to set up a transportation schedule for Eli to attend school, getting picked up and dropped off through a local program. Our staff then learned that they had family in another state who may be able to help them, although they had not spoken in some time. Interfaith’s behavioral health team helped Gary realize that it’s ok to reach out to family when in need and that it was a decision that could greatly benefit his and Eli’s future.

Once connected with family again, our team helped repair fractured bonds and Gary and Eli’s family agreed to take them in and support them getting back on their feet. Before their move, our staff helped connect Gary to employment that was set to start once they moved to the new state. They also supported with making sure their vehicle was in working order and that their registration and insurance were current before making the move. Interfaith also provided gas vouchers alongside meals and snacks, ensuring they would get to their destination safely.

While preparing for their new adventure, Eli found it difficult to leave the new family and relationships he had found at our Family Shelter, especially since his birthday was coming up a week after they were supposed to leave. Eli was heartbroken that he would not be able to celebrate it with everyone at the shelter. To his surprise however, our staff had planned an early birthday party for him which he joyfully celebrated with everyone at the Family Shelter before embarking on his new journey with dad. After their celebration Gary and Eli said they were “nervous but excited” for their new start.

That’s not all though, now at their new residence, our staff continue to check in on them to make sure they are meeting their goals and remain on the path to self-sufficiency.

It’s difficult to predict when we might need help and support and even more so, from where it will come from. From all of us at Interfaith Community Services, thank you for making our work possible.