Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article Long ago, when the world was younger and her paychecks were steady, Betty Fereira made little Christmas trees out of ice cream and the rent was never a question mark. She worked at the Carnation creamery in Oakland then, and she got to eat not just the tree-shaped […]
Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article In the past 12 years, Patricia Hernandez has lost everything, and rebuilt her life, three times. “It’s been hard for me. But when I think about it, I am so lucky,” she said recently, relaxing with her 7-year-old daughter in their immaculate, light-filled Sunnyvale apartment. “That’s all I think about […]
Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article The Rev. Aaron Kumlin was used to providing help, not receiving it. He and his family – wife, April, and three daughters – found the tables turned in the fall of 2009. That’s when Aaron Kumlin, who had been working as a church pastor in San Francisco, lost his job […]
Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article The knock at the door was loud and insistent. “Like the police,” Denise Byrd remembered, her eyes widening. On the other side was a man holding an eviction notice, which he tacked to the door of the Pinole apartment Byrd shared with her husband, Victor Walters, and son. The couple had […]
Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article As the sole provider for his family of five, Carlos Medina is no stranger to putting in a solid day’s work. For the past 20 years, he has regularly clocked eight to nine hours at a time as an event server in San Mateo to ensure that his family is […]
Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article Marsha Lyles doesn’t look like a woman who is down on her luck. She lives in a tidy apartment complex in one of the quieter corners of the East Bay. She wears a stylish silver chain over her black turtleneck, with matching earrings, bracelet and watch. There’s even a […]
Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article Craig and Dawn Miller know that there really is no place like home. The idea of a stable residence was shaky at best after they both lost full-time time jobs a few months ago. With two college-bound teenage girls harboring big dreams, losing their apartment was unthinkable. “I […]
Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article One out of every 10 households in the Bay Area will turn to a food bank this holiday season for sustenance, officials say. Not just the elderly or people too disabled to work, but residents who until a year or two ago held lucrative jobs, owned nice homes […]
Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article At an age when most people have retired, 73-year-old Carlos Ramirez gets up early for work as a substitute teacher in San Francisco schools to make ends meet. While he enjoys teaching young people – particularly sharing his love of poetry and song – he finds the job physically and […]
Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article Claudia Salgado has always wanted more for her daughters. Salgado’s own mother died when she was 7, and nine months later her father moved from Mexico to Point Reyes Station to make money for the family. Salgado said she had no toys, and her new guardians in Mexico expected her to […]
