Our clients and former clients share their stories of homelessness, resiliency and their pathway to self-sufficiency:

“I came to live in San Francisco six years ago with my two children to a shelter because of a domestic violence situation. During the time we were living in shelters, it was a hard and exhausting period of family courts and confrontations in court for custody of my children. From the recommendation of my social worker, I applied for housing. Several months later, we received the great news that we had qualified to live in Mosaica Family Apartments, which made us very happy that we would finally have our own home.

During the time we’ve been living in Mosaica, we have tried to take advantage of every opportunity that we were presented. I worked for four years in as a customer service agent in the area of telemarking. The experience I gained in the area of sales gave me the opportunity to get a better job. My eldest son, Carlos, was accepted and received a full scholarship to study at a private high school.

I’m grateful for the help we have received from the staff and people who have helped us throughout the difficult period in our lives. We are appreciative and continue with the strong intention to move forward and become better people.”

 - Dulce, LSS client

“After giving up everything in Chicago, I moved to San Francisco to take care of my aunt for her only son. My husband followed me six months after. I was diagnosed with cancer of the mandible (jaw bone); surgery was successful and I didn’t need to have chemotherapy. My husband had a blood disease and it got worse and three years later, he passed away. My aunt followed behind him and passed away a year later. I had no idea that my cousin would end up evicting me after taking care of his mother for 15 years.

After becoming homeless, I would sleep on the casino bus at night and then would sneak into my late aunt’s house during the day to take care of my hygiene. The social worker at my clinic found me an apartment at a place called “Mosaica” and I was introduced to LSS – who ended up treating me like royalty. I thought the apartment would be empty…but I had a bed (I hadn’t slept in a bed for over a year!), a table and chairs, new dishes and they supplied food weekly. They even received my check, paid all my bills and gave me what was left.

So you see Sis, you don’t have to worry about me any longer as long as there is LSS”.

 - Excerpt from a letter written by an LSS client to her sister