Sandy’s journey back to housing was long and full of setbacks, but has ultimately been defined by resilience and hope. 

Sandy grew up in Union City, California as an only child. She cherishes her memories in Union City, reflecting on spending time with her father and riding their horses. Santa Cruz was a second home to Sandy, as she grew up spending time visiting Boulder Creek. 

As an adult, Sandy built a steady life in Kansas City, and worked hard in a variety of jobs . She held a position at a civil engineering firm as a building facilitator, worked as a medical receptionist, painted houses, and picked up repair jobs.  

After some time, Sandy moved back to Boulder Creek to raise her family in the place she had visited so often growing up.  She remembers the town at that time as small, quiet, and secluded, with her kids attending Boulder Creek Elementary.
 
When her father became suddenly ill, Sandy returned to Kansas City to support her parents. After his passing, the family home was sold and she had no place to return. She moved back to Santa Cruz, but her children were grown and living their own lives. With few options, she found herself without stable housing.

Sandy’s journey through homelessness took many forms. For a time, she lived in a tent deep in the woods off of Highway 17. The challenges were constant. Sandy recounts how unsafe she felt during this period of her life, knowing she was exposed to the elements and completely unsheltered. The simplest things most folks take for granted were the largest issues for Sandy. Even getting a shower and laundry was hard. “Taking a shower was the most important thing,” she remembers. “When it rained, everything would get wet. It was horrible.”

Despite the hardship, she adapted and made the best of her situation. Sleeping outside was new to her.  “We never even went camping as kids,” she reflects. “Homelessness was brand new to me. I learned to cook outside, go to the parks and make meals, and share them with my fellow homeless friends.” 

One day, while driving through the mountains, Sandy noticed people giving away food. That encounter introduced her to the Association of Faith Communities’ Safe Spaces program, where she met Father Joseph and found a new level of support. Safe parking, showers, clothing, and community gave her the stability to keep moving forward. After many years in the program, and years of hard work, persistence and patiently waiting , Sandy was matched with a housing voucher. 

Even then, the road to finding permanent housing was long and hard. Sandy recalls the experience was full of disappointment and rejection. Though often discouraging, she persevered with grace and patience. “I didn't want to stay in the same situation” she shared, motivated by the hope of stability and a better future. 
Sandy’s hard work and perseverance in the face of so many challenges paid off. In August of 2025, after 15 years of homelessness, she moved into her own home. 

The relief was overwhelming. “It feels like I can breathe again, like my freedom has been restored. God has blessed me.” Getting out of the constant survival mode she has been in for the past 15 years is like a breath of fresh air. “You don't have a future when you are homeless, it’s day to day survival” she reflects on how her days were filled with focusing on getting her basic necessities met. 

Today, Sandy is focused on rebuilding her life. “If you're not looking into the future, you are going to stay in the past,” she says. She looks forward to getting organized, walking her dog in the park, and enjoying her time without the constant search for food and shelter. “It’s my turn now,” she says with determination. 
​
She also hopes others can better understand the truth about homelessness. “We get blamed for so much, and it’s just not that way. Programs like Downtown Streets Team show us giving back. Take a look before you judge.” Sandy is grateful for the support she received along the way, and the chance to start fresh. She is grateful for Safe Spaces, sharing “this is a great program from advocacy and presenting us in a different light”.

Written by Xenia Garcia

AFC staff member Adam Henderson served as the keynote speaker at our 2025 Gala. He shared his story during an interview with Sam Altis, AFC's Executive Director. Watch the interview or read the transcript below. 

​Sam: You may know our guest speak from his time in the shelter, but now as a full-time AFC staff. So please welcome Adam Henderson. [cheers and applause from audience]
 
Adam: Nice to meet you.
 
Sam: You have some fans in the room.
 
Adam: This is my...this is my family. I really feel that way. [audience applause]
 
Sam: Alright Adam, let’s hear some of your background. Folks may have seen you around a lot but they may not know all of your story. Tell us a little bit about where you grew up and what life was like for you growing up.
 
Adam: I am originally from Newport Beach, Southern California. My father was a furniture refinisher and my mother was kind of a makeshift type person. I came from a split family, so we didn’t stay together very often. It was more like a traveling type situation with my mom and a stay-at-home situation with my father, when it was possible to get along with my father. So my upbringing was quite difficult but I was able to attend school and I made it through high school and some college. I was able to enjoy the benefits of having a scholarship for attending college.
 
Sam: As folks have probably heard from you, basketball was part of your journey. You want to tell us a little about that aspect of growing up?
 
Adam: Yeah, I played basketball most of my childhood life, through high school, and it actually got me my foot in the door for college. It didn’t last as long as I wanted it to but I was able to attend two years of college at Cal State Long Beach. From there, I was able to pick up a few agents that helped me go overseas. So I spent some time in Taiwan, and in Mexico, and in Alaska and Canada playing basketball. So I did get a chance to travel. So that part about me has always been the enjoyment of my life, the traveling.
 
Sam: You said at one point you were on like a Harlem Globetrotters like team? Is that right?
 
Adam: Exactly. That was how I got through Canada and Alaska, was with that travel team.
 
Sam: Nice. So you’ve said you’re comfortable with me asking this: How did you go from that to losing housing for the first time?
 
Adam: I would try to come home, back to my father, and we didn’t get along. So I mean, he was a construction worker. I would have worked there for a while but then after a while we’d get in a large argument so I would have to hit the streets. And from there, I would go various places but I would always end up being in a place called Santa Monica. And there I kind of found comfort in homelessness, which is a bad thing for some people because you really just don’t get your foot back into the door. So it was easier for me to stay around services, like HPHP [Homeless Person’s Health Project] would be a service that you have here, than it was for me to actually find housing again and you know, pay rent, have to get a steady job, that type of thing. It wasn’t really in my makeup to do it from scratch on my own. I was always trying to go back to, you know, work with my father or do some things like that and it would just never work.
 
Sam: And how old were you, at that time?
 
Adam: I think in my forties. [At] around forty-five my father passed, so that was the end of the attempt to, you know, maybe take over his business or that type of thing. Most of my life I’ve been in and out of homeless situations, as far as I know.
 
Sam: So fast forward a bit. What first brought you to AFC?
 
Adam: What first brought me to AFC is I had a friend in Santa Monica, his name was Michael. We used to call him Thurston Howell. But he was a really kind guy, a really good guy to be around, and he brought me up here. We were going to go to one of his — his family is Potawatomi Native American, if you know that tribe. His mom was the oldest tribal member actually. He had family in Washington and I forget, I think it was in Oklahoma where some of the people that I know are from, they had a casino. So he was going to take me on a trip up to see some people that he knew in Washington, then we were going to Oklahoma to the casino to try to find work. But he ended up passing in San Francisco. And I didn’t know what to do at first.
 
I was living in The Tenderloin, basically around places where there was food. For some reason I was at a bus station, or something like that, and somebody asked me if I wanted to come to Santa Cruz. I said, yeah sure. Santa Cruz was one of the places that he’d [Michael] mentioned that he’d like to come to. So I was like, yeah, I think I’ll go check it out. And at that point in time, the cold weather shelter was up at the armory, and I thought that was really cool, to be inside for the winter. So, I kind of stayed around the shelter atmosphere here. Sometimes I would go back-and-forth from here to Los Angeles to check out the vibe there, but there wasn’t really anything there for me as far as community environment, or downtown streets team, or anything that I could jump into and pick up, you know, a gift card or some supplies and things like that. So I would go to Los Angeles and I would come back here. And then somebody offered to put my name on a list for AFC. So I put my name on a list for AFC and about a year later, I got into the program here for the Association of Faith Communities.
 
Sam: Yeah, I remember that when I first started as shelter manager, like a month after that, someone was like, Adam is back. And everyone was really excited that Adam was back. I was like, who’s this Adam guy? And then you came and Al was like, he’s my backup monitor and was very excited for you to come back as his backup. And I’ve got to see you, kind of, since then. Can you tell us what AFC has been like for you?
 
Adam: To me, it’s really heaven sent. Because of the fact that, I don’t think if I was still in Los Angeles, I don’t think I would be indoors anywhere. So I think that was the reason I kept migrating back to Santa Cruz, and now this program, AFC.
 
Sam: If you don’t know, Adam served as our overnight monitor for a while, and then we also brought him on staff in increasing ways. Can you tell us what made you feel like you were ready to take the jump back into housing? Both like financially, but also emotionally, socially, all of those things.
 
Adam: I think it more of a push from Courtney [audience applause]. Because I wasn’t really planning on getting back into housing. But as soon as I got the push, I started talking to Xenia and she helped me, and then I took it from there. The place where I am staying now is a place that we saw and I went forward with it, so I’m there now.
 
Sam: Yeah, that was this past fall right? Fall 2024?
 
Adam: Yeah, think so.
 
Sam: Can I ask how it’s been?
 
Adam: I love it. I love it where I stay. It’s really cool. King size bed! [audience laughter]
[Al, a former AFC monitor, joins the pair on stage]
 
Sam: We have a guest here.
 
Al: Adam, when you first came into the shelter, I knew you were the type of person that could handle being the monitor. That’s why I picked you as my assistant. [audience applause and Al exits the stage]
 
Sam: I’ll tell you during this time, Adam started as our monitor, and then he oversaw our shower program, in a part-time capacity. Then we realized we needed more shelter staff and so we were like, well, Adam is good at that too, so we brought him in on that. Then when he started to look for housing, we were like, we actually — we need Adam like 40 hours a week, and so we brought Adam on full-time. It was a no-brainer. I got to say, we needed Adam, it wasn’t just that Adam needed work. We needed Adam specifically, for all of the things that he does. He is our fixer. He is the person when something goes sideways, Adam will go take care of it: our truck, our trailer, our shower trailer... And he does it all with this like sense of calm and gentleness that’s really, really impressive. It’s a really unique gift.
 
So, last question for you, sort of as we’re reflecting on your journey and you being housed and working full-time for us now: What are you hoping for as you look ahead?
 
Adam: Um, I’m not really sure. I’ve never really been sure about the next, the next steps of my life. I’m grateful. That I have been, throughout my life, whenever people have helped me, I’ve always been extremely grateful. I’m grateful more so to this place because it seems like something that I can continue to do. And for me, that’s a big step up.

Sam: We hope you continue to do it, because we need you. Well, let me just finish by saying, Adam you are a gift to our team. Your perseverance, watching you over the last four years, just continue to push forward and continue to make steps forward, and then to become a bigger and bigger part of our team has been such an encouragement. And if I can say it, I’m really proud of you.
 
Adam: Thank you.
 
Sam: And I’m grateful that you’re a part of our team. Thank you, Adam.
[Cheers and applause from audience]

Courtney is a problem solver. After a successful 20-year management career in a residential substance abuse setting, she had the insight and courage to scale down her work life to find balance with her family life. But her career did not suffer. She started working at the AFC part-time in 2023, and now focuses her talents on helping clients find stability.

Courtney works collaboratively with clients to clarify housing goals, asking: Where would you most like to live? And how would you maintain that situation long-term? Then she surveys the big picture, noting the skills and knowledge the client already brings to the table, the personal challenges they face, and assessing how community resources could support a plan based on actionable steps.

Known as a mama bear, Courtney excels at helping others navigate through tricky situations. She works with her case managers to solve challenging client circumstances, offering new perspectives and novel ideas. Recently during a staff meeting, she noticed a client being pulled over by the police right outside our window. Courtney leaped up, and dashed across the street to lend support, making sure the situation would not escalate.

Michael Jordan is famous for stating, "Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." Courtney is an all-star player at the AFC, making it happen with her invincible spirit to motivate and lift people to the next level. 

While we’re sad to see her go, we’re so grateful for Courtney’s time at AFC, and wishing her well in the next stage of life!
Written by Nicole Donovan

Xenia is a homegrown Santa Cruzan who truly values making a tangible difference working within her community. 

She’s a UC Santa Barbara alumnus with a degree in Sociology and an emphasis on law. Later, while working with incarcerated youth, she became aware of the cyclical connection between injustice, discrimination, and homelessness.

She understands the frustrations of clients dealing low wages, high living costs, aging, and limited housing.  Xenia finds it inspiring however, that the AFC can truly work as a community partner, not only providing needed services, but fostering supportive relationships between individuals.  She appreciates this very humanizing approach. 

Xenia’s not afraid to go above and beyond to help her clients, including taking a day trip to San Francisco. Being frustrated with the bureaucracy of obtaining a birth certificate needed to receive a housing voucher, she and her 80-year old client hopped aboard public transportation, and headed straight to City Hall. This out-of-the-box support meant a great deal to her client, in addition to offering a fun adventure for the pair.

Xenia says that she feels lucky to learn so much from her clients, and appreciates hearing about their life stories and the wisdom they bring. She says her role as case manager is less about “giving back” to her community, and more about being a helpful advocate for change. Xenia says that professionally, she is exactly where she is supposed to be right now. And for the AFC, it is truly our privilege to have her. 
​
Written by Nicole Donovan

Jeanne’s journey to housing was, by her own telling, full of little miracles. One sunny day last spring, she and three other shelter members decided to take day a trip to the Land of Medicine Buddha to spin the prayer wheels and offer prayers for housing for themselves and others in the shelter. Six months later, their prayers were answered. All four of them secured housing. 

Jeanne knows the answer to those prayers came in part through her own perseverance as well as the kindness and generosity of others. After being housed, hardworking, and relatively comfortable for most of her life, a series of unexpected, and, in her words, catastrophic life changes left her with nothing, including housing. “It’s like I suddenly fell [through the floor and] into a dank, dark basement. I was looking around, saying ‘How did I get here?’ Then you make a decision. You either live or you die.”

That determination to survive brought her from the frigid midwestern city she was living in, back to the more temperate climate of California, where she’d previously lived. Her journey eventually led her to AFC’s Faith Community Shelter, where she began to encounter what she’d describe as the first in a series of small miracles – the warmth of community and the chance to interact with individuals from diverse backgrounds. 

“Gifts came in many ways and on many levels,” she recalls. Sometimes those gifts were physical gifts, like a gift card around the holidays. Other times they were a word of comfort, a prayer or listening ear. The most impactful thing, she shared, was that each of those gifts “let us know that others had us in their minds.” “For some,” she went on, “I think I reminded them of their older relatives, and compassion was their response.” 

Those interactions also sustained her spiritually. As a self-described “spiritual seeker”, she considered it a grace to interact with volunteers from diverse spiritual traditions. She could see her thinking evolving as those interactions fostered tolerance and empathy. Anyone who had the privilege of sharing a spiritual conversation got a taste of her own insights, shaped by reflection and experience, and often shared in a quote from a sacred text or spiritual teacher. 

Jeanne sees another miracle in how she found housing. After a lengthy wait, she was referred to H-DAP, a program that would subsidize her rent and help her attain a Section 8 voucher to secure permanent housing. Xenia, her AFC Case Manager, lined up a showing for her in a neighborhood she knew she liked and felt comfortable in. The week before the showing, she decided to take a walk through the neighborhood to confirm her sense of safety and to keep an eye out for other rentals. The day of the showing came, and, while she had high hopes, the unit had an entry way that would be unsafe for her to navigate, eliminating it as a viable option, and leaving them both disappointed. 

As she and Xenia left the property, they saw a “For Rent” sign in the distance, and said “Let’s go!” After calling the number, the listing agent came within 30 minutes to let them view the unit. Jeanne knew it would work well for her, and immediately put in an application. She was skeptical she’d be approved, as she knew the Santa Cruz rental market was competitive. To her surprise, she was offered the apartment within 48 hours! From there, H-DAP staff lined up the funding to make sure she could move in to her new home. 

With housing secured, she counts the move in support she received, particularly from volunteers within AFC’s faith community, as another small miracle. Many of those volunteers had been cheering her on for some time, and once housed, were eager to help her feel settled. A volunteer and her son from Peace United gave her a table, even carrying it up the steps and into her unit. A volunteer from Resurrection Catholic Church donated her own rocking chair. Volunteers from Trinity Presbyterian gave her dining chairs and a house plant, which, as Jeanne notes, is currently thriving. 

Beyond those who donated, she also counts the emotional support she received along the way as a miracle. She felt a special bond with the cooks from UMC Santa Cruz, who had been encouraging her for years. After she was housed, she remembers running into Pastor Jeremiah Fair from Community Covenant Church. He was delighted to hear she was housed, and shared that his congregation had been praying for her for months. With her permission, he shared the good news with the church so they could celebrate.

This series of miracles has left Jeanne with a deep sense of gratitude. She reflected that she could have become bitter after losing so much, but her experience and reflection made her see things differently. “A life’s journey is not all about the outside of things – the security and financial success,” she shared. “Ultimately, it’s about how you think. I think through associating with so many different kinds of people, you become a much more compassionate and wiser person. Life is about what kind of human being you choose to be.”

*To protect her privacy, Jeanne’ real name likeness was not used for this story.

Growing up in South Lake Tahoe, Milissa felt incredibly fortunate to be raised in an area where she could experience so much natural beauty and a multitude of outdoor activities.

Milissa has a diverse professional background. She worked in the service industry, owned her own landscaping business, was a photographer for casinos in Tahoe, and, with a competitive ski background, she even coached for the U.S Ski team.  

Milissa’s move to Santa Cruz started about 12 years ago when she needed a fresh start from her hometown. At the time she did not know anything about Santa Cruz but was drawn to its beauty as she began to reassess her life.

She found work right away in the Santa Cruz mountains and started therapy, wanting to make sure to focus on mental health in her new chapter. She quickly found more work, becoming the caretaker of an Airbnb on the property she was renting on the Westside of Santa Cruz. The work allowed her to be outside and take care of the property’s animals for nearly a decade, an experience she loved. 

Her move to Santa Cruz turned out wonderfully, until she suddenly faced homelessness for the first time in her life. In the winter of 2022, her landlord and employer passed away, and their children decided to sell the property. “I went from normallness to everything feeling like I was in quicksand all of the sudden. It is hard to express how when you reach rock bottom it is so difficult to get out of rock bottom. Even your friends you thought you can rely on just disappear, and you are left completely alone, disheartened and confused, not knowing any avenues. And it took awhile for me to learn that there was actual help available.”.  


Shortly after becoming homeless and living in her truck with her two dogs, Milissa came to AFC. She had met a former participant of Safe Spaces who had found the program and staff helpful. After enrolling in the program, things started to look up for her.  “I was introduced to my case manager, Victoria and slowly discovered that there was support available to me and the ball started rolling.”

Milissa shared that her overall experience with AFC and its programs were great. “The support and help was there more than I knew ever existed. I was no longer alone. It is the best program. You are put in safe hands and you are guided through whatever is needed and who to ask for help. All the way down to gas and car repairs. It helped me to make small steps in my life, and I was finally able to take action and get things done. Before I was just surviving and was at my lowest point, wondering how much lower I was going to end up going. Not to mention seeing other people on the street and you are left wondering, is it going to get any worse?. The safe parking was a Godsend, to have a safe location and not having to worry about who is walking around your car, being able to sleep safely, and having access to a clean bathroom.”


The road to finding permanent housing was hard work for Milissa. After being referred to a housing program which provided her with a Section 8 voucher, she was finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This consisted of a long process of searching through housing listings and relying on the support of her case manager and housing navigator. “It’s not easy at all because there is not a lot out there”. Her patience and hard work paid off. In September 2024, almost two years after losing housing, she moved into her new home.

Milissa now looks forward to settling in and being able to reap the rewards of her long awaited efforts. She shared she still has a hard time believing this is real. She is still processing her experience of homelessness and everything that came with it. As she settles into her rental, she feels hope. She looks forward to having a much needed hip surgery so she can function at full mobility and start working again. “I feel positive that I am finally safe and can get out of survival mode.” 

​Michele’s journey back to housing was long and, ultimately, serendipitous. She enjoyed growing up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and began working locally as a pre-school teacher. Sadly, this career didn’t last long, as she was left permanently disabled at the age of 20 by a drunk driver. She fought hard to get disability benefits, which gave her a small amount of stable income. 

Despite this tragedy, she began building a meaningful life. She developed a passion for art, creating beadwork, stained glass and other décor. She picked up the occasional interior decorating job, and sold her work at local art fairs. All of this came to a sudden halt when an unexpected divorce left her unable to afford housing. She spent some time living with family and caring for her mother, who was terminally ill. In search of more stable options, she would attempt to rent a room, but found it to be a highly vulnerable experience, with roommates and landlords attempting to take advantage of her. 

Ultimately, she ended up living in her car. She made the best of a tough situation, eventually getting a bus to be more comfortable. This brought her to AFC’s Safe Spaces program, where she found comfort and security during the pandemic. As had happened multiple times before, life sent her another curveball.

She began experiencing strange medical symptoms, and, after numerous doctors’ visits, she was diagnosed with CIDP, an autoimmune disorder that progressively affects the nervous system. The diagnosis had life changing implications. She would have to get infusions every three weeks for the rest of her life, and her driver’s license was suspended for medical reasons.

Without a license she had to make the tough decision to leave AFC’s Safe Spaces program and park near Santa Cruz City Hall, where friends would move her bus daily to avoid ticketing. Her time parking on the streets was difficult, and scary at times. While she found nearby city employees to be friendly and caring, she experienced harassment at the hands of strangers. Passersby would frequently yell at her simply for exiting, shouting things like, “Go home!” Her lowest moment came on a rainy night when she awoke to shattered glass all over her bus. Someone had broken in her back window, leaving her scared and exposed to the elements. 

Michele’s time in her bus came to an abrupt ending when the City of Santa Crus passed its oversized vehicle ordinance. In all of her time sleeping in vehicles, she had never been ticketed. Once the ordinance was passed, she received 10 tickets in 10 days, making it impossible to stay. 

Out of options, this brought her to AFC’s Faith Community Shelter. Like many who experience homelessness, she found the prospect of a shelter scary, but what she discovered was very different. “What I excepted versus what I experienced was black and white,” she remembers. She found the other shelter members to be open and loving. They looked out for her and went out of their way to help her, especially on the hard days of her illness.

Her time in the shelter also reconnected her with housing navigation services. She quickly qualified for a program that would subsidize her rent, allowing her stable housing for the first time in years. She began the housing search process, which was initially discouraging. “80% of people don’t even call you back,” she recalls. Then, one day, she was surprised to see a listing on the street she lived on when she was younger. It checked all of her boxes: a small cottage, a yard for her dog, single story, lots of light for plants. Within a day, she was viewing the property, and within two days, the place was hers. Her journey to housing brought her back to where she started, and she couldn’t be happier. 

She has now been in her place for several months, and loves it. “It’s just amazing,” she shared. “It’s like paradise. As much as I hurt from this disease, I’m at peace. Everywhere I look is beauty. It has been months now, and I still have a hard time closing my eyes. It’s like I’m dreaming.”

​Tony came to AFC’s programs, like many, after a series of bad breaks. His long-term rental in Aptos ended after the landlord’s family decided they wanted the property for personal use, despite Tony’s hard work in keeping up the property and caring for his aging landlord. This wasn’t the first time Tony had fallen on hard times, and he had developed a resiliency that would see him through. 

Growing up in Brooklyn, Tony found himself in trouble as a young adult. A series of crimes and ongoing substance use made him realize he needed to make a change. He moved across the county to California to get a fresh start, living with family and entering substance use treatment. After a couple of tries, he got clean, and began building his new life.

He found well-paying work and started a family. Life was trending in the right direction. He maintained his sobriety for 11 years, until an accident at work. While working as a window installer, he broke his back. At the time, doctors were overprescribing opiates, so he was given powerful narcotics while his back healed. The prescription drugs led him to relapse, and eventually lose his job. His life began to spiral. His wife had also relapsed, and their relationship fractured. At a low point, the drug use and relational conflict landed him back in jail. 

When he got out, he was determined to rebuild his life again. After bouncing around between family members, he made the move to Santa Cruz, where he lived with a friend and found work. He began washing dishes at a local bakery. When the owners saw his work ethic, they quickly promoted him to baker. Office neighbors also saw how hard he worked, and soon offered him jobs as well. After living in an RV for a short period, he was awarded a housing voucher, which would allow him to move into permanent housing.

His housing search was long, but ended when he visited a property in Aptos. When he arrived for a walkthrough, the landlord was in the middle of repairs. Tony shared the ways in which he could help, and he was approved on the spot. Over time, he and the landlord became good friends. They shared meals together, and, as the landlord aged, Tony began helping him with day-to-day activities. 

Tony recalls the impact that time had on him. “[The landlord] trusted me, a criminal from New York, so much. I didn’t want to disappoint him.” Tony didn’t. He lived up to expectations, and proved to be a faithful friend and caregiver. Unfortunately, his landlord’s family didn’t share that trust, and when they saw the arrangement, they kicked Tony out of the rental, saying they were going to use it personally. 

This led Tony to AFC. He initially found himself sleeping in his vehicle, and entered Safe Spaces, our safe parking program. Once a shelter bed opened up, he joined the Faith Community Shelter. He remembers feeling like the odd one out at first, but he quickly settled in. “I saw everyone respect each other,” he recalls. That mutual respect put him at ease. 

Tony brought his work ethic into the shelter, going above and beyond to care for the congregations that hosted. He also brought that work ethic to his housing search. With the help of staff and a local housing advocate, he applied to dozens of rentals. While the process was taxing, he remembers how helpful shelter staff was. “No one ever gave up.  They just kept looking. They just kept encouraging me.” 

Eventually, Tony’s hard work paid off. In a meeting with shelter staff, they called a rental in Pacific Grove, just blocks from the ocean. The unit was still available, and they put in an application right away. Tony advocated for himself with the property managers, sharing how reliable and hardworking he was. After a few tense days of waiting, his application was approved. After receiving deposit assistance from Santa Cruz County, he was able to move in.

The move allowed him to be reunited with his son, a Marine veteran, who moved in with him, along with the family dog, Athena. Not surprisingly, the neighbors and the property managers grew to quickly appreciate Tony’s friendly and helpful demeanor. While life isn’t perfect, it’s once again stable for Tony, thanks to a little support from others, and his own hard won resiliency. 

When Travis first came to the Faith Community Shelter, he was more than a little hesitant. Although he had spent the last 20 years in Santa Cruz County without permanent housing, he had never been in a local shelter, and had no desire to be. He imagined a crowded space, filled with substance use and interpersonal drama. The idea of a shelter in his head was so off-putting, he turned down a spot in AFC’s shelter initially. After some nudging from staff and volunteers, and a lack of safe sleeping options, he joined. 

While the shelter wasn’t perfect, what he found surprised him. It was more welcoming and friendly than he expected, with a generally supportive group of people. He had more personal space than expected, and found the shelter’s relatively small size much easier to handle. 

Travis’ journey to enter the shelter was a long one. After growing up in Maine, he landed in Boston as a young adult. When he arrived, he worked odd jobs and retail, trying to piece together enough to get by. He would couch surf, live with girlfriends, and, when needed, sleep outside. This already challenging life was about to get more difficult, as he had his first severe epileptic seizure. The seizure and subsequent fall landed him in the hospital, requiring reconstructive surgery on his jaw and arm. After two years in Boston, he knew he needed a change. 

As he surveyed his options, some friends from Food Not Bombs in Boston recommended trying California. They thought he’d connect with the laid-back lifestyle and hippie culture, so he gave it a go. He first landed in Humboldt County, but eventually made his way down to Santa Cruz County. By the time he arrived, he was receiving regular SSDI payments for his epilepsy, and had a steady girlfriend. Together, they were able to afford a rental in Brookdale and begin building a life together. 

Things initially went well, but, as Travis acknowledged, he began to unravel. Lack of mail access in Brookdale caused a mix up in his SSDI, which caused it to lapse. He began relying more heavily on alcohol. His relationship became stressed, and his choices became worse. After four and half years in Brookdale, he lost his relationship and his housing. 

For the next 20 years, Travis went without permanent housing. He worked hard, picking up odd jobs and helping Food Not Bombs, but could never afford a place of his own. He’d piece together temporary places to stay, and when those ran out, he’d get together his camping gear and sleep outside. When the winter storms of 2023 hit, life outside became untenable. He squatted in a storage shed to escape the rain, but was soon kicked out and back in the elements, which led him to the Faith Community Shelter. 

Despite his hesitance, the shelter proved to be a much-needed reprieve. He remembers everything felt so much easier than sleeping outside. He had good meals, a clean mat, and the space to focus on his health and housing. The timing turned out to be ideal.

After a few months in the shelter, his name came up on the Section 8 waitlist, which would allow him a rental subsidy if he could find an apartment locally. While staff was thrilled, Travis was skeptical at first. His name had come up on the waitlist twice before, and he could never find a rental before the voucher expired. Fortunately, this time proved different. 

Staff gave him options to explore, and he found a renewed motivation to make use of the voucher. At one point, he went up and down Pacific Avenue, talking to every leasing office that was open. When he came to the Palomar Inn, which has housed several FCS participants, he took an application, filled it out, and had AFC staff review it and help with the application fee. After he turned it in, several of the building’s residents stopped by the leasing office to put in a good word for him. Within a few weeks, he was approved and moving in. 

There’s always an adjustment period when someone is rehoused after years, but Travis is doing remarkably well settling in this next phase of life. He’s reapplying for Social Security, and receiving temporary financial assistance from the county. He used it to treat himself to a new coffee maker. Now, each morning, he makes himself a nice cup of coffee, sits in his recliner, and watches the sunrise over the boardwalk from his apartment window. On the table nearby, he has a few of AFC’s business cards, just in case he runs into someone who needs help getting back on their feet. 

When Linda arrived in Santa Cruz in Spring 2023, her life had taken a turn she never expected. The apartment she had in northern California was riddled with toxic black mold. Her landlord refused to remediate the mold, despite its caustic effect on her health. She began experiencing vertigo, and eventually had a stroke and a fall that broke her back. 

To fully recover, she knew she couldn’t stay in the apartment. Despite her vigorous cleaning attempts, the mold was spreading to her furniture and clothes. She made the tough choice to leave all of her things behind, holding on to only her car a few belongings. 

Around the same time, her son was in Santa Cruz receiving treatment for substance issues. Despite how overwhelming her situation was, she had clarity about next steps. “I knew my son needed my support. I was willing to go through anything,” she reflected. She packed the few belongings she had and came to Santa Cruz, content to sleep in her car if needed.

Initially, she came in confident. “I’ve been a camper all my life,” she remembers thinking. She quickly found the adjustment more difficult than expected. Her recent lumbar break caused nerve damage, and the stroke had slowed her cognitive processing. 

One of the most difficult experiences was the powerlessness she felt. Before retiring, Linda was an accomplished, well educated professional. She spent years overseeing social work programs in Minnesota and neighboring states, focusing on training to prevent sexual misconduct in the workplace. The advocacy group she worked for was so effective, they were featured in the 2005 film North Country. 

“I had the power in my career to get everyone together. I was able to coordinate the team. Say here’s the problem.” Experiencing homelessness in Santa Cruz felt like the opposite. She remembers thinking, “Who am I anymore?” What she wanted most from locals was empathy, not just for her, but for all of our unhoused neighbors. “In the process you need to see yourself too. That makes hard hearts soften.”

As she struggled to regain not just housing, but her sense of confidence and belonging, she joined AFC’s Safe Spaces program. While the program didn’t instantly solve her problems, it gave her a sense of stability and safety. She gives much of the credit to Victoria Verdugo, Safe Space’s Case Manager. “If I hadn’t seen Victoria every week, I would’ve failed completely,” she reflected through tears.  “Victoria could handle my emotions…There was a sense of respect and communication. It was all wonderful.”

With the support of Victoria and other local agencies, Linda began her housing search. She came to town with a Section 8 voucher, which would subsidize her rent, but the housing search was daunting. She woke up every day and immediately checked every rental listing she could find, sending Victoria the ones she found promising. 

Even with Victoria’s support, the ups and downs of her housing search began to take their toll. She was growing frustrated and tired. “I woke up one morning desperate, and prayed to God for mercy.” Despite the fatigue, she checked the rental listings that morning, and came across a small unit in the redwoods. At first, it didn’t seem like a good fit, so she moved on in her search. Over the next few days, she continued to get notifications for the listing, and eventually felt like she should check it out. 

She remembers arriving to the showing. “I got out of the car, and thought ‘wow!’” The setting was beautiful, and the landlords were kind and accommodating. While the unit wasn’t perfect, she felt like it was the right one for her. The landlords accepted her application, and she began the process of moving in. 

Fortunately, a program through Santa Cruz County bought her new furniture and home supplies, replacing what she lost to the toxic mold. As of late October, she’s settling in well to her new place. Most importantly to her, her son has completed treatment, secured work and housing and is doing well. “Seeing my son come to life again,” she reflected, “that was worth everything I went through.”