Taking Heart and Giving Home
About this time each year, we present each other with heart-shaped symbols of love--some made of chocolate, others constructed of paper and lace, a few consisting of gold and diamonds.
Otto Stoll always reminds me of the song “My Funny Valentine,” and not just because he makes me smile. The man whose business card reads “Otto Stoll, since 1947” received his original heart at birth on New Year’s Day 1947; he’s collected three more since.
Back in 1979, Stoll beat the odds by surviving his first heart attack; 57% of American males who have one die. After failed bypass surgery in 1980 and another major cardiac infarction in 1989, his name was added to the roll of more than 43,000 Americans awaiting organ transplants, 30% of whom die because they run out of time.
When Stoll’s first transplanted ticker brought on a rare form of rejection, Stoll resolutely stepped in line behind those folks still praying for donor No. 1. As Stoll puts it, “God gives mixed blessings.” Although a previous blood transfusion had infected him with hepatitis, the resulting antibodies prepared him to extend a good home to hearts nobody else wanted. Stoll later put in orders for two more.
Stoll surrendered a stressful position as public relations director for a Fortune 500 company after achieving the dubious distinction of surviving a third heart transplant in October 1994. But don’t kid yourself; Stoll is hardly retired.
The 1995-’96 Conejo Valley Man of the Year manages local political campaigns, consults in every manner imaginable and works with several regional charities.
The emeritus chair of Many Mansions Inc. was honored Thursday as he snipped the ribbon officially opening Stoll Community House. Since Stoll usually shoves the spotlight in another person’s direction, he insisted that Cheryl Richmond and Patty Foreman be mentioned here for scaring up in-kind contributions to furnish the facility that bears his name. So be it.
Commended for years of front-line service in the affordable housing battle, Stoll appears to have championed a rather unpopular cause, at least here in the Conejo. If you find locals willing to admit the existence of homeless people in the affluent east county ‘burbs, there are several nasty yet persistent stereotypes with which to contend.
It might surprise our judgmental neighbors to learn that Many Mansions assisted 680 households last year, 69% of whom resided in Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village or Newbury Park. A 1997 survey reports that 73% of those requesting help were women, usually heading single-parent families as opposed to the drugged-out or slothful who come to mind when some visualize “homeless.”
The service sector tempts with abundant opportunities yet $8-an-hour workers can’t fork over the $775 for which an average Ventura County one-bedroom apartment rents. Do the math: The average gross monthly income for the four-member family seeking assistance totals $1,404; that’s less than 29% of the earnings median for Ventura County.
Many Mansions not only provides transitional housing, but also prepares those making a serious effort to change their housing situation with counseling, job development and self-sufficiency services. According to Many Mansions’s lengthy contract, factors rendering an applicant ineligible include unaddressed domestic violence, alcohol / substance abuse, exhibition of attitudinal, behavioral or interpersonal problems, or the failure to utilize past social services possibilities.
Yet some fear Stoll Community House is going to lower property values.
Many Mansions documents 783 families currently wait-listed for affordable housing. Stoll knows a great deal about waiting lists. While he may have gotten more than his fair share of hearts, it’s only because he keeps giving his away.