Client Spotlight

When Jeffrey left Pennsylvania in 2021 and came to Los Angeles, he hoped for new opportunities and a fresh start. But the challenges of navigating a city without family, friends, or a support system quickly became overwhelming. Jeffrey is intellectually disabled, and as the months went by, his mother Ruth grew increasingly worried about his safety and well-being. In her late 50s, she made the courageous decision to move across the country to be with him.

Together, Ruth and Jeffrey set out to build a new life, but what they encountered was a reality faced by thousands in our community: skyrocketing housing costs, wages that do not keep pace, and landlords with requirements impossible to meet when you are just trying to survive.

For four long years, Ruth and Jeffrey drifted between transitional housing, shared programs, and nights spent in their car. Ruth worked full time bringing home just $2,800 a month while Jeffrey searched for his footing. Even with her steady job, most landlords dismissed their applications outright. In California, most landlords require renters to prove they earn at least two and a half to three times the monthly rent. For a $1,500 studio, that means showing $3,750 to $4,500 in income. For Ruth and Jeffrey, those numbers meant closed doors again and again.

Ruth describes those years as a cycle of exhaustion and indignity. She would spend her days working while Jeffrey used their car to run errands. At night, they searched for somewhere safe to sit or sleep. Sometimes it was the gym. Other times it was a casino, where they would buy a soda just to rest in a warm space. Showers and restrooms were rare luxuries. Meals had to come from takeout since they had no way to cook or store food. And when money ran out, Ruth faced the humiliation of panhandling, something she never imagined she would have to do.

“The hardest thing was feeling like I had lost my dignity when I could not keep myself clean or in fresh clothes,” Ruth shares. “When you lose your dignity, it is hard to feel like you can do anything for yourself.”

That all began to change when Ruth and Jeffrey found St. Margaret’s Center. Through our staff’s tireless efforts, we helped with housing searches, budgeting, application fees, and eventually secured a safe studio apartment in Long Beach. With the support of our Time Limited Subsidy program funded by the South Bay COG, we were able to make their landlord comfortable renting to them and cover rent assistance and a security deposit. We even provided them with a microwave, donated last year by generous SMC supporters.

Today, Ruth has a better paying job with flexible hours, and she and Jeffrey are finally in a place they can call home. Their next chapter includes saving to one day buy a fixer upper or mobile home, and starting a small business together that Jeffrey can take over when Ruth retires. For the first time in years, they can imagine a future built not on survival, but on hope.