#GIVINGTUESDAY
At 41, Hugo, a U.S. Army veteran, was homeless and had been sleeping for a year and a half on the Santa Ana Riverbed and at the Santa Ana Civic Center. He had a son in foster care, struggled with post-traumatic stress and other health issues, and had been homeless for so long that he was considered among the “chronically homeless.” But it was hard for him to even get a good night’s sleep, preferring his sleeping bag to a tent because it allowed him to keep an eye out for danger in the night.
In 2017, Hugo became among the first to move into American Family Housing’s veterans community, Potter’s Lane, after outreach workers with the US Department of Veterans Affairs connected us with him. From the outset, Hugo had clear goals: to get a job – and to get his young son out of foster care so he could be raised by his own father.
Now, less than a year later, Hugo has a job, eats regularly, sleeps in a bed each night . . . and is working to take custody of his son. With support from our dedicated management staff and social work team, Hugo has just signed a rental lease to move into another American Family Housing residential community that has room for a family and where there are other children next door.
At Potter’s Lane, veterans are given the chance to have a home. With a door that locks. A floor that is theirs to sweep and maintain. A refrigerator to fill with food. A stove where they can boil pasta. Potter’s Lane residents have been given the opportunity to be responsible for themselves, but with access – if they want it – to American Family Housing’s wrap-around services. After accessing these services, which included a resume-building workshop and job interview training, Hugo got a job as a security guard.
Please donate now so we can help others make their way out of the riverbeds and into safe homes.
Every dollar you donate is the difference.
American Family Housing assists families with disabled household members and vulnerable adults with barriers to housing stability.