Celebrating Life Off the Streets
Maria De La Rosa watched her two young sons play tag in Elysian Park Sunday, relishing the simple pleasure of the family outing.
Two years ago, she was homeless, a victim of domestic violence bouncing between shelters around Los Angeles. But a few weeks ago, the 30-year-old woman moved into her own two-bedroom house in Arcadia. Her sons have their own rooms. She can go for walks in the evenings.
“It’s a beautiful place,” said De La Rosa, who wants to go back to school and study to be a child psychologist. “Ever since I got my own home it seems like everything has become so positive. I feel so good about myself.”
De La Rosa’s family was one of more than 100 that gathered in the park Sunday to celebrate their transition from homelessness and isolation to the stability of having their own place to live.
The families were assisted by Beyond Shelter, a nonprofit organization that helps homeless families get permanent lodging and the skills they need to make it on their own. More than 1,300 families have been placed by the group since it was founded 10 years ago.
“I cannot overemphasize the value of having your own place to live, of children having their own beds,” said Tanya Tull, president and founder of Beyond Shelter. “I have seen revolutionary change in the demeanor of people and in their ability to envision a future. Housing is a basic human right, not a reward for good behavior.”
For many families, finding a permanent residence was the key to gaining self-sufficiency.
“When we say, ‘We’re going home now,’ we really mean it from the heart,” said Janell Nelson, 42, who moved into a two-bedroom Los Angeles apartment with her two daughters last December after eight years of homelessness. “‘It feels so good to be independent. I’ve become a productive citizen in society.”
Music blared, footballs soared through the air and children munched on hamburgers at Sunday’s gathering, the fourth-annual picnic for the program’s graduates.
Jules Saunders, 7, spun around on a tire swing, grinning broadly. Life wasn’t always this carefree. His family was homeless for more than two years, and part of that time he spent in foster care while his mother, a recovering drug addict, was in treatment. But in April, he and his older brother and mother moved into a two-bedroom apartment in West Los Angeles.
“We got fish and birds and turtles,” Jules said happily. “It’s cool because we have our own space to play in. And I have a nice bed.”
His mother, Chequita Saunders, 35, credits Beyond Shelter for helping her get a permanent home and learn the skills to run her household and take care of her two sons.
“Now that we have our own space, the boys are so much happier,” said Saunders, a receptionist at a entertainment production company. “Their attitude is better and they’ve really opened up. I couldn’t even see this far before. I owe Beyond Shelter so much.”
More than 90% of Beyond Shelter’s clients are single mothers, many escaping domestic violence or the grip of drug addiction.
Emergency shelters, drug rehabilitation centers and food closets refer families in need to the organization, which helps them locate affordable housing and provides support services. Beyond Shelter staff work with landlords to negotiate low rents and help families find subsidized housing.
A case worker assigned to the family introduces them to the neighborhood and makes sure the children start going to school. The case worker continues working with the family for a year and determines if they need crisis counseling or training in money management, parenting or job skills.
This approach has garnered Beyond Shelter accolades from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements.
“In a big city like this, with services so fragmented, many women and children don’t have the resources they need,” said Tull, who also founded Para Los Ninos, a Skid Row-based agency that provides child care and other services. “That’s what we try to provide them. This is also homelessness prevention. It’s completely innovative in its approach.”
For many families, Beyond Shelter is the last resort in their search for stability.
“I had nowhere to live,” said Thelma Mancilla, 41, who shuttled her son and two daughters between friends’ homes for a year after her husband left. “My life was very sad. I cried all the time because I felt so powerless.”
Three years ago, they moved to a three-bedroom apartment in San Gabriel.
“Beyond Shelter extended me a hand and now my life is so much better,” she said. “I love being alone with my kids. They can sleep peacefully at night.”
