Sign-up Link for needed items:

Here’s a brief introduction to the people we’ll all be helping. They were all referred to us by Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa …

Amelia lives in Home 1. This is the first time she has ever had her own apartment and she is beyond excited! She was born in Santa Rosa but her mom died when she was four so she and her sister grew up in the foster care system. Sadly, they were never in the same home together, but do remain close. She stayed with several families over the years and on transitioning out of the system at 18, moved from place to place, staying with friends, or in motels and shelters. Amelia says she has never felt nurtured in any way and moving around so much she has never felt a sense of stability, the thing that most people are so lucky to have. She recently had a baby boy who arrived seven weeks early and is still in hospital. Thankfully, her sister has been really helpful and has been able to pass along baby things. So as a single mom, this apartment is finally somewhere she can feel settled and somewhere she can finally call home.

Debra has most recently been living in a shelter with her 17-year-old daughter; she has three other adult children and three grandchildren. Debra had been battling severe health issues for 30 years. She finally was able to stabilize her health ten years ago. She received two degrees: one in Human Service Advocacy, and one in Alcohol and Other Drugs Services (AODS) from a community college. She worked at Catholic Charities for awhile but unfortunately had to go on medical leave and has not yet been able to return to work. Last year alone, Debra suffered three heart attacks and a blood clot. She is thrilled to be moving into her own place for the first time in five years and is so grateful to Welcoming Home for providing furniture to make it a home. She is hopeful that this new and calm environment will help both her and her daughter get a fresh start .

Jack lives with his daughter Mavis and six-year-old grandson in Home 3. Over the last five years they’ve lost three homes to nearby fires: the Tubbs fire, the Ranch fire and the River fire. Each time, the family had just been able to settle down after losing everything, living in temporary accommodations and finally finding a home, only to go through the loss and recovery all over again. Meanwhile, Jack has been unable to work at his facilities/equipment job that he had held for 18 years because he was disabled due to a workplace injury. It took years to get his disability case settled so that he could finally begin to receive disability pay. Jack’s daughter Mavis is an in-home care giver. The three of them have been living in a shelter until now. Jack is thrilled to be able to put his grandson in a stable school and to have a safe and comfortable place to live, thanks to your support.