Interfaith is committed to ending family homelessness in North County, one family at a time. See how your support has made a life-changing impact on local families.
Success Stories
All of our family shelter stories have been shared with the consent of our clients. Thank you for taking the time to learn about the real people behind today’s critical issues.
Gary and Eli
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.
The Mendez Family
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!
The Soto Family
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.
The Pearce Family
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.
Josie and Family
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.
The Jacobs Family
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.
Shaina
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.
Andrea
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.
The Wilson Family
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.”
Bree
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 4th grade, enjoys playing outside with friends, arts and crafts, playing Roblox, and watching movies with her mom.
