Ezabela Makarosyan and her three children were one step away from being homeless. Ezabela remembers walking past mothers and small children sleeping on the sidewalks in the San Fernando Valley. Her fear pushed her onward. She called 2-1-1 and was told again and again that there were waiting lists for shelter. She still pressed on, living in a motel room on Sepulveda Boulevard and surviving on potato chips and food that local markets would give her to feed her children. Finally, there was room at SFVRM.

Ezabela knows she is one of the lucky ones. With a waiting list of 75 families and no other family shelter in the 260 square mile San Fernando Valley, the chances of finding a safe temporary ‘home’ are needlessly difficult. But that makes our work all the more important. We continuously strive to improve our services so that our guests emerge from homelessness not just with a roof over their heads, but with sustainable employment as well as a deeper knowledge of personal finance, parenting, self-care and a renewed faith. For Ezabela, the prospect of finding a stable home for her children has rekindled her spirit, “I left a difficult situation to find my way here. Now I am looking forward to leaving here and being able to support my family and not just survive, but thrive once again.”