December 25, 2025

Meet Alofa & Sandi

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This Santa Rosa family has a home for the holidays, thanks to help from Season of Sharing Fund

Sitting on her living room couch, Sandi Laupua glanced around her Santa Rosa apartment. Her 2-year-old grandson scooted a toy truck along the coffee table. Across from a wall covered in framed family photos was a small Christmas tree adorned with sparkling gold lights.

Not long ago, Sandi and her husband, Alofa Laupua, worried that they might have to spend the holidays in a homeless shelter — or worse. Now here they were, feeling comfortable enough to discuss where they should go on their first-ever family vacation.

“Finally,” Sandi said, “we can start to hope again.”

The couple owes some of that renewed optimism to the Season of Sharing Fund, which works year-round to prevent homelessness and hunger in the Bay Area’s nine counties. All donations are spent helping people in need.

Last summer, after Sandi and Alofa both lost their jobs, they fell two months behind on their rent. At risk of getting evicted from their affordable-housing complex on the southwest outskirts of Santa Rosa, they fretted over hypotheticals: Would they have to return to the same Sonoma County shelter where they had spent half of 2021? And what if they were turned away?

“Finally…we can start to hope again.”

Their landlord, Hannah Sinclair, encouraged them to apply to the Season of Sharing Fund. After explaining their situation to one of the nonprofit’s volunteers, Sandi and Alofa learned that the charity would cover their unpaid rent.

The financial assistance didn’t just allow the couple to stay housed. After a half-decade of near perpetual setbacks, they felt like they could finally begin to find some stability. Alofa soon began a new job as a city bus driver in nearby Petaluma. And, although they still live paycheck to paycheck, the Laupuas now talk about traveling — a luxury that, for years, they couldn’t think about, much less afford.

“The goal is to build up a (financial) cushion,” Alofa said. “Maybe we can actually catch up and go on a vacation one of these days.”

Alofa met Sandi in 2018 through his nephew, who’s close friends with one of Sandi’s sons. In Alofa, Sandi saw someone with her same ultimate goal: find a way, somehow, to build a better life.

A self-described “reformed bad boy,” Alofa would stop by Sandi’s house to convince his nephew to avoid the same mistakes he once made. At the time, Sandi, who was divorced with four sons, had a decent job as a private caregiver.

After marrying about 12 months into their relationship, the newlyweds enjoyed a smooth first year as husband and wife, only for everything to change during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sandi lost her job when her sole caregiving client died. Shortly thereafter, Alofa was laid off from his position with a portable-toilet company.

The next several years made them wonder whether the setbacks would ever stop. The couple ping-ponged among a string of short-lived jobs, had their cars repossessed, and endured two stints with their children at a local homeless shelter.

Amid all that, Sandi dealt with diabetes-related complications, helped parent her grandson and tried to keep her marriage intact. Stress at home had left the couple constantly bickering.

“The goal is to build up a financial cushion.
Maybe we can actually catch up.”

In July, just days before Sandi and Alofa were set to get evicted, Sinclair told them about the Season of Sharing Fund. Sandi broke down in tears while detailing her story to caseworker Joanne Matson, who quickly recognized that the Laupuas met the criteria to have their back rent covered.

“You could tell how appreciative they were,” Matson said. “At that moment, they just needed a break.”

The Laupuas still struggle. On a recent Friday morning, while watching her grandson play with that toy truck, Sandi acknowledged that Alofa’s wages from his bus-driving job often aren’t enough to cover their monthly expenses. After all, they must feed themselves, the grandson and Sandi’s two youngest sons — all of whom share a three-bedroom apartment.

Things only got harder when food stamp benefits stopped during the government shutdown. Typically homebodies, Sandi and Alofa started attending any party they could find, just for a free meal.

Still, for the first time in years, they’re beginning to imagine a better future for themselves.

“I want to go to Hawaii,” Sandi said. “I’ve never been there, and I’ve always wanted to go.”

Reach Connor Letourneau: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com

WAYS TO HELP

Neighbors Help Neighbors

At Season of Sharing Fund, we believe that an unexpected financial crisis should never mean losing your home. Preventing homelessness isn’t just kind—it’s also the most effective way to keep our communities thriving. 100% of your donation keeps Bay Area residents housed, cared for and nourished.

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