Yvonne Ruiz was homeless and living on the streets of Sacramento for 13 years before she could move into a studio apartment last October at Mercy Housing’s 7th and H Street community.
Disabled and unable to work, she was forced into homelessness. Last year she saved enough money from Social Security and general assistance to apply for an apartment, but she didn’t have the funds for the first month’s rent and the security deposit.
That’s when she turned to Transition to Permanent Housing Solutions (TPHS), a program of the St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) conference at Holy Spirit Parish in Sacramento, that provides assistance to people who are in temporary financial distress and are in danger of becoming homeless due to threatened evictions, or who are homeless and need assistance in obtaining housing.
“All those years I lived mostly at the river in a tent. No one would rent to me because I didn’t have enough money,” says Yvonne, who is 50. “If it wasn’t for help from Safe Ground Sacramento, Mercy Housing and the Vincentians, I would still be homeless. I’ve had a long road to travel but I made it.” Her security deposit was paid for by the SVdP conference at Our Lady of Grace Parish in West Sacramento, while TPHS paid her first month’s rent.
Yvonne has lived in Sacramento all her life and has family in the area, “but they have their own lives. They give me food, but they can’t provide me with housing or take care of me.”
“Homelessness is a hard struggle,” Yvonne says. “There’s a lot that goes on out there that people don’t realize. If I could help another homeless person I would do it because I know what they go through. It’s violent, you get robbed, and you can’t trust anybody. So when a homeless person asks you for something, they are really hungry or out of money -- it’s not a joke.”
In the course of their ministry, Vincentians come into contact with many people who are in danger of becoming homeless because of temporary financial difficulties or who are already homeless, says Dot O’Connor, president of the Holy Spirit conference and a Vincentian since 2015. A parishioner for 27 years, she is retired from a career in information technology with the state Office of Legislative Counsel.
Recognizing the significance of the problem, the conference found out it was eligible to apply for the Friends of the Poor grant in 2018 for the Western region and secured $5,000. They opened a separate TPHS bank account to administer the funds and its members approved a set of objectives and guidelines for the program. They were committed to raising funds to facilitate housing for clients who are homeless or in imminent danger of becoming homeless due to circumstances beyond their control. This includes rental assistance, security deposits, moving expenses, furniture, kitchenware, dishware and other items.
“Nothing is more important to a healthy, sustainable community than housing for its people, and homelessness is a major problem in Sacramento,” says Brian Powers, a retired insurance defense attorney who is the administrator of the TPHS program. He has been a member of Holy Spirit for 11 years and joined the SVdP conference eight years ago.
“We work to prevent people from becoming homeless and to help people transition from homelessness to being housed,” notes Brian, noting that SVdP members believe TPHS is a unique program among small charitable organizations. “We were coming across people who would ask us, would you help me pay my rent or can you help me get into housing, because they would need $1,000 or $2000 to get into a place to live. That is more than our conference can pay. We thought if we can get the funds, we can help these people.”
The objectives and guidelines for TPHS state in part that assistance can be provided to clients in the city and county of Sacramento, not limited to clients in the parish conference and other service areas. Assistance must be for permanent housing, not temporary housing. An assessment is made of the probability that a client will be able to maintain the housing after TPHS has provided assistance. The limit of financial assistance per client is $2,000 per year, but discretion to provide more is allowed, depending on the circumstances of the client being assisted and the money available in the account at that time.
Brian says that TPHS does not condition help on anyone’s religious affiliation, ethnic or social background, gender, or political opinions.
In the more than three years since TPHS started in December 2018, 101 people in 48 households have been assisted with expenditures totaling of $47,882.
Brian and Dot tell of some success stories, which include:
--A physically disabled woman in her 40s who for many years shared rent for a duplex with her mother. When her mother died, she was unable to pay the rent with her Social Security disability funds so the landlord said she had to leave. She found an apartment, but had no money for the initial costs, so TPHS expended $1,620 for the application fee, deposits and first month’s rent, none of which she could have paid herself.
-- A family of seven served with a three-day notice to pay or quit their apartment because the working parent, an employee at a charter school, was unable to start her summer job. TPHS paid the balance of $330 for one month’s rent.
--A woman who was living in a short-term residence provided by Sacramento Self Help Housing and found an apartment, but was short $200 necessary for her to move in. TPHS paid the balance.
--A couple, parents of a one-year-old, who both recently became unemployed, were under threat of eviction. TPHS paid $696 for rent so they could stay in the apartment until their unemployment benefits began.
--A wife and mother of five children who had a daycare business lost clients, so she was unable to pay the rent. The family had been served with three-day and 14-day notices to pay or quit, so TPHS paid a month’s rent of $351 to bridge the gap until the client was able to find more children for her business.
--A mother of two girls, who had recently escaped an abusive relationship. She was a hairdresser, but could not work temporarily because County Protective Services said she needed to be with her children, so she was not protected from eviction by the COVID moratorium. She was $2,250 in arrears on her apartment. She was able to pay $1,000 herself and the Salvation Army agreed to pay $200. TPHS paid $1,050.
--A woman and her grandson were homeless, but she found a house and had money for the rent because she had a job as an in-home health care worker and also had income from Cal Fresh and Aid to Families with Dependent Children. She need $1,100 for first month’s rent and $1,000 for the security deposit, which TPHS paid.
--A 29-year-old illiterate, bipolar man, whose sister contacted Vincentians through the St. Vincent de Paul helpline. He had been homeless and living in his car for “a while.” He had a part-time job at a grocery store downtown and his sister had arranged an apartment for him at a complex near his job. He needed $756 for first month’s rent and $1,512 for a security deposit, but was only able to pay $229 himself. TPHS paid $2,039 to get him into the apartment.
--A homeless client whom Vincentians met in a local park – a working woman in her 30s with a seven-year-old daughter who could not find landlords willing to accept her applications for housing because of an outstanding rental debt that showed on her credit report. She could not afford to pay the entire amount of the debt and also pay first and last month’s rent and a security deposit. TPHS paid $655, the part of the outstanding debt she could not pay herself, so that the debt would be deleted from her credit report. She was then able to submit applications to landlords and was accepted for an apartment.
“The one thing we can’t do is find people places to live – the city and county need to do that,” Brian notes. But we’ve learned people are not just looking for a handout. They are people having a tough time, temporarily, and are very grateful for the help we can provide. We’ve also found property managers and landlords to be genuinely supportive of their tenants.”
Because of limited funding, Brian says they began TPHS by serving people primarily in their own conference service area of Land Park and parts of south Sacramento. By the beginning of 2020, they had secured enough money from grants and fundraising to expand the program to Oak Park and Elk Grove, and they also provided assistance to a client in West Sacramento and one in Natomas. Eventually, TPHS obtained enough funding to expand to the city and county of Sacramento. At times, TPHS has matched funds with other parish conferences to assist persons eligible for assistance.
To date, among the sources of funding for TPHS have been the Friends of the Poor grant, a grant from the SVdP Sacramento Diocesan Council, a significant anonymous donation and other private donations, and fundraising by conference members such as the Friends for the Poor Walk and a wine tasting event.
“By far, the biggest challenge we have faced is with clients who are homeless, but are actively seeking housing,” Brian notes. “The homeless population in Sacramento is vast and low-income housing is almost non-existent. We continue to work with many types of people, and with additional funding perhaps we can contact government and private agencies that serve the homeless and offer funding to get people into homes if homes can be found – a difficult task at best.”
Dot says Vincentians have learned so much from people who need help with permanent housing and assistance in general. “They all have different stories and backgrounds. They are just like you and me. I envisioned helping at church in some way but not to this extent. It has enriched my life in a positive way and I have developed bonds and lifelong friendships. I’ve had the privilege to work with people who extend their time, their knowledge and love to those in need. It’s truly all from God to see the extent of the works and assistance the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has provided.”
Yvonne agrees. “You have to give it all to God and God will make the way. If it wasn’t for God, I wouldn’t have made it. I am so grateful to God every day because I have housing.”
LEARN MORE
About Holy Spirit Parish’s SVdP Transition to Permanent Housing Solutions Program by contacting Brian Powers at 916-606-4080 or holyspirittphs@gmail.com. Or visit www.svdp-holyspiritsac.org.
(In photo at top, Yvonne Ruiz in the lobby of Mercy Housing’s 7th and H Street community in Sacramento, where she lives in a studio apartment.)