Our clients come from a myriad of backgrounds and circumstances that led to them being homeless. Whether it was escaping abuse, struggling with substance abuse issues and mental health challenges, or lack of income to pay rent, each person has demonstrated strength, resilience, perseverance and courage to ask for help. Through various local services and resources, they have met the qualifications to obtain housing. Our clients may be moving to their new studio, apartment, townhouse, etc. from shelters, hotels, transitional housing programs or living with a parent, in one room, with five kids. Although our clients each have their own unique stories, they have all experienced some level of trauma, simply because they were homeless. While we are working with them, we need to have an awareness and a deep appreciation for this. Our clients are inviting us into their homes, trusting us to deliver a design that will help them create a sanctuary. They are also trusting us to be in their homes, without them, during the actual installs. As members of the Inspired Spaces Foundation, we have a responsibility to respect that trust, and act accordingly.
Our First Install
The Inspired Spaces Foundation was privileged to partner with The Living Room of Santa Rosa for our first project, furnishing its new ADU (additional dwelling unit) as part of its transitional housing program. The Living Room is a non-profit organization that works with women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and offers a wide range of services, including a path towards permanent housing. [...]
C’s Testimonial
“C” is a young, single mom with a 17 month old son. She has been homeless on and off since about 2017. When she wasn’t homeless, she was still “crowding into someone else’s space” which was frustrating, trying to make it work. It became more challenging once she had her son, as, she described, a lot of people don’t want to live with a baby, or [...]
J’s Testimonial
“J” is a young single woman who was homeless on and off as a youth. She described growing up in a chaotic and abusive family which consequently led to her living in shelters with other youths, and in group homes. She shared that she suffered a lot at the mercy of her parents, was the blacksheep of the family and was “scapegoated.” She developed mental [...]
K’s Testimonial
“K” is a young single mother of 2 small children. She was evicted from her home by a family member, through no fault of her own, sued him to get eviction off her record, and won. He was also her employer, and fired her at the same time. This started her year-long journey of homelessness, and through incredible hard work and perseverance, acquiring an apartment. [...]
L’s Testimonial
“L” is a strong, courageous woman, in her 70’s, who embodied grace as she told her story. She was an assistant cook and worked her way up to cook manager, for over a decade, with Sonoma County school districts. In 2015, she found herself evicted from her apartment complex, given the reason that she was using the wrong cleaning products on her surfaces, causing the [...]
O’s Testimonial
“O” is a single father with a 9 year old daughter. He is originally from Honduras, but came to the United States almost 3 years ago because his daughter was being threatened and he needed to flee his country to stay away from the violence. He first arrived in South Carolina where he was then joined by his wife and daughter about 2 months later. [...]
Y’s Testimonial
“Y” is a college educated, single mother with a 9 year old vibrant, intelligent and polite son. She moved up from Santa Barbara a couple of years ago to be closer to relatives and with the hope of giving her boy “something better.” In the beginning, she was able to pay rent, however, her situation changed, and, as she was looking at the prospect of [...]
