Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article Audrey Butler sat on the couch of her two-bedroom town house in Novato, pulled out her cell phone, and scrolled to a video of herself crooning an old James Brown soul ballad. It was a warm November afternoon, yellow and crimson leaves bristling outside the small complex where […]

Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article The anxiety over how she’d pay rent would hit Luz Guerra Reynoso so hard she’d pick at her nails until her fingertips were raw. Reynoso, 44, a single mom, had always paid rent on time for the Morgan Hill apartment where she lives with her adult son and […]

Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article Susan Mulloy was thrilled and relieved in late 2019 when, after being on a wait list for more than three years, she finally got into an affordable housing development for seniors in Oakland. “I thought I could be out on the street,” Mulloy said. “One more rent increase […]

Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article Even before the pandemic hit, life was tough for Cristina Niu and her two young sons. They lived with her mother and three other family members in the Sunset District — seven, sometimes eight of them packed into a snug three-bedroom house — and Niu worked six days […]

Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article Jack Hendrix was just finishing up treatment for esophageal cancer when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. With cheerful optimism, he regards that as perfect timing. “I’m a firm believer in the idea that things happen for a reason,” he says. “I’m glad I had finished my chemo treatment in […]

Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article “This food bank saved me from a lot of sorrows,” Michael Bartell said, waving and chatting with people who came to pick up groceries from the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank pop-up pantry on a sunny afternoon at Treasure Island. “It really is a blessing” Once homeless, Bartell — […]

Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article It was 1986, and the term “homeless” had only recently drilled itself into the public consciousness. But the problem went beyond the alarming, burgeoning population on the Bay Area’s streets — poverty overall was spiking as the 1980s economic boom left those on the bottom end behind. We […]

Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article The past couple of years haven’t exactly been easy for Tracy Walker and his mother, Suzette Solis. Walker has had to go through some 15 surgeries on his feet, a total of 34 over the past decade, all a result of complications from Type 2 diabetes. Then, in […]

Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article Ebrahim Safapay might be 93, but if a guest admires his shrine of family photos, he’s liable to gingerly stand up and offer his comfortable seat. It has the best view of the images of his three children and late wife. He doesn’t get many visitors to his […]

Explore OurStories of Hope Share this Article This time last year, Maryuri Aceituno wasn’t sure if her family of four was going to be able to keep their San Francisco home of eight years. The pandemic — and the havoc it wreaked on her work schedule cleaning buildings around the Bay Area — came at […]