Home 1
Ben was referred to us by Episcopal Community Services. After looking out of a porthole for the last few decades, Ben decided it was finally time to regain his land legs. He’s been living and working on charter boats since he was 16, yet the coldness of the ocean has never touched his heart.
Ben is a kind man filled with stories of his hard-fought battles to stay at sea and continue a 300-year legacy amongst sailors like himself. When asked about his favorite charter destination, he didn’t hesitate—nothing comes close to home. The port of Sausalito has always been his haven by the sea, and when he first saw the view of the Petaluma River from his new apartment, he said he felt grateful that he could continue to have the sea as part of his home.
Ben’s first order of business after settling in is to fix the old wooden boardwalk that leads out to the water—when he’s not out crabbing or fishing, that is.
For Ben, this home marks the start of something new, anchored in the place he loves most. The furnishing of Ben's apartment is one of two sponsorships in December by The Outdoor Art Club.
Return Home
Ben was moved to tears. He was especially excited about his lazy boy and said he has always wanted one but boats were not conducive to such a large piece of furniture. He was also thrilled to have a TV (a luxury). Ben insisted on a group shot with the wonderful volunteers from HBK Interior Design.
Home 2
Lily was referred to us by Ritter Center. She was born in Marin and went to high school in San Rafael. Life hasn’t always been easy and she knows some of her decisions weren’t always the right ones as they led to losing contact with her three adult children.
Lily was faced with difficult circumstances, along with just plain bad luck. In June her apartment was destroyed by fire and she lost all her belongings, with the exception of a plant that she’s had for many years.
She luckily was compensated financially for the fire and has managed to buy a car. It took her several months to find an apartment, during which time she had been living in a tent.
Her beloved dog has been her companion for 16 years; hopefully he will be able to live with her in her new apartment.
Perseverance is everything. She has worked very hard to reconnect with her kids and is finally in a good place with them. Her daughter is in the throes of buying a home and Lily had pride written all over her face as she told us this.
Now, she too has a roof over head, and is so appreciative for the home Welcoming Home is about to help create for her.
Many thanks to The Outdoor Art Club for sponsoring Lily's Welcoming, as well as Ben's!
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When Lily opened the front door, her face immediately crumbled with emotion. Trying to speak through her tears, she embraced the volunteers and numbly nodded as she took in everything that they showed her.
The kitchen was full of everything she wished for: Blender! Coffee maker! Microwave! Now her windows were covered with lovely new black-out curtains, giving her much needed warmth and privacy at last.
As Lily looked at the Christmas stockings hanging in her living room and admired the thoughtfully donated lit up little Christmas tree, she invited us all to come over for coffee any time we were passing, proudly smiling as she tried to take in her beautiful new home.
Lily with the Welcoming Home volunteers
Home 3
Rachel and her family were referred to us by North Marin Community Services.
Rachel never wanted to leave her six children but when work dried up in her hometown she made a painful choice: she left the kids with her parents and moved away to work for a family who promised steady pay. The money helped keep her children fed and clothed, but the family she worked for was harsh, had unkind words, worked her long hours, and treated her with no respect.
When things grew unbearable, her church stepped in. They helped her leave that situation safely and connected her with a job cleaning houses in San Rafael. For the first time in a long while, Rachel felt she might finally be building a new life.
But just as she found her footing, tragedy struck: her parents passed away suddenly, and her six children had no one else. Rachel brought them to San Rafael immediately. She managed to secure a small cramped one-bedroom apartment. They had no beds, table ... i.e., nothing for her children to call their own. It was completely empty, yet for the family, it felt like a miracle
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Novatny Family, Welcoming Home can now give Rachel and her family a warm welcoming home to call their own.
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Rachel’s children could hardly contain themselves as they waited for their mother to open the door to their newly furnished apartment. When they entered, there were shrieks of joy as they saw an apartment filled with furniture, beds and even art.
They now have a table where they can all share a meal, a sofa to sit together on, and even individual lap desks so that they can do their school work.
A Welcoming Home volunteer went the extra mile—contacting a friend in Guatemala for fabric and hand-sewing it onto cushions—to give the apartment a truly warm, homey feel..
“I can’t believe it, thank you so much!” Rachel shed tears of joy as she watched her children laughing and running from one room to another. “I never expected this to be so beautiful,” she whispered. “This now feels like a real home”.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Novotny Family, this family now has a home filled with dignity, stability, and the promise of a bright future.
Home 4
Mindy was referred to us by the Ritter Center. She was overjoyed to be moving into a one-bedroom apartment — a space that will truly be her own.
Mindy previously worked in pharmacies and lived independently. She married four years ago, but her husband passed away in March, and his children inherited all of his assets, including the car they shared.
Unable to afford the rent on her own, Mindy moved out and stayed in a hotel for a month. When her funds ran out, she was able to move into Jonathan’s Place, a shelter in Novato.
Mindy had no belongings, so we were especially looking forward to fully furnishing her new home and helping her make a fresh start.
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When we watched Mindy walk through the door, we couldn't help but notice the exhaustion on her face from just having finished an eight hour driving shift at her job with Marin Access. The fatigue quickly faded, though, as Mindy began to notice her newly furnished home.
The empty apartment that she and her daughter had left that morning had been transformed into a lovely and functional new living space. Both mother and daughter were speechless.
As they quietly walked from room to room, Mindy and Katie took it all in. They couldn't believe we had even given her gifts for the cat she is planning to adopt. Then, as Mindy softly ran her hand over the new comforter in Katie’s bedroom, she simply said "No way. There is just no way that this is really ours now."
Having assured Mindy that indeed it was, through tears, she replied "At last, a place that actually feels like a home. We've always wanted a home like this but it just seemed so impossible.” I don't think we're ever going to want to leave!”
That said it all. We knew our efforts had been well worth it.
Mindy with Welcoming Home Volunteer Allison