» housing

Helping Hearts Foundation Resident Heather

Nov 202011

Helping Hearts Foundation Resident Heather from Helping Hearts Foundation on Vimeo.

Coming from a family with a history of bi-polar disorder did not help Heather when domestic violence reared its head in both of her marriages, the latter of which left her sexually battered, destitute and living alone–after an ugly divorce—in an apartment complex inhabited by rival gangs. The worst came to fruition as she was burnt, drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple males, after which she suffered a stroke which left her lying incapacitated and naked on the floor for several days. To add insult to injury the staff at the hospital did not believe her version of the story and as such did not complete a rape kit. Despite having lived a continuously tumultuous life of distress and violence over the past ten years, her spirit is indomitable and she has done her best to maintain a level head for more than a year at Helping Hearts Foundation.

Helping Hearts Foundation is an IRS recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Sacramento, California that was created to help those in need of everyday living assistance. We believe our work lies in relieving the stress of the emergency rooms, hospitals, shelters, and the working poor who, due to an unending economic downturn, can no longer properly provide for their loved ones on a fixed low income. We want to be there for those people that are misplaced or are difficult to place, people from skilled nursing and referral agencies that have a difficult combination of problems to address, and people who need a high level of care and have a low income.

Helping Hearts Foundation Resident Janette

Blog, Resident Biographies No Responses »

Nov 182011

Helping Hearts Foundation Resident Janette from Helping Hearts Foundation on Vimeo.

Waylaid in Las Vegas by cardiac arrest while on a trip to Illinois to visit her grandchildren, one of the nation’s first female forklift operators was attacked by a ruthless mugger. Repeated kicks to the head resulted in severe brain trauma, three stints in her heart and spinal damage that left her nearly incapacitated. Transferred from a Las Vegas hospital to a Sacramento facility she has never fully recovered. Yet despite her horrible injuries she continues to be a big smile and warm personality while helping others in need. While recuperating from her injuries at her family’s home and waiting for her husband, she found Helping Hearts Foundation and convinced her husband that they had found a home.

Helping Hearts Foundation is an IRS recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was created to help those in need of everyday living assistance. We believe our work lies in relieving the stress of the emergency rooms, hospitals, shelters, and the working poor who, due to an unending economic downturn, can no longer properly provide for their loved ones on a fixed low income. We want to be there for those people that are misplaced or are difficult to place, people from skilled nursing and referral agencies that have a difficult combination of problems to address, and people who need a high level of care and have a low income.

Helping Hearts Rescue Brothers Brad and Tim

Blog, Rescues No Responses »

Oct 272011

Helping Hearts Foundation Resident Brad survived a lot more than Detox

Piled up mattresses and broken down, disused furnishings litter the walkway up to Brad and Tim’s room and board. The smell hits you before you open the door. You can’t quite say what it is, other than rot, but it’s pungent. So much so, Jimmy and Pak both need clean suits, masks and gloves before entering. Cockroaches lazily feasting upon trash, piled up for months, in the open. Toxic black mold covers the ceiling like a layer of paint. Cracked walls full of jagged breaks and holes, impassable hallways and the flooring rotting away beneath your feet have created squalid living conditions.

When Helping Hearts walked in they were two. When they walked out Helping Hearts had grown richer by two residents–Brad (pictured) & his brother Tim–who have been with the organization for more than a year now. Their previous living situation proved to be so infested with fleas, ticks, roaches, rats and other pests that none of their furniture could be moved to their new house and their clothing had to be sanitized by professionals.

Seeing good people in bad housing is a terrible thing, but all too common in situations where people in need of physical and / or psychological help have only their monthly pensions on which to depend. Veterans like Brad, who looks after Tim, do receive a bit more, but often it is still not enough to provide safe and secure shelter that is convenient to hospitals and public transportation.

Their new house is a far cry from what they had convinced themselves was normal. Now they live in relative comfort and security and are in close proximity to healthcare facilities, bus and light rail, supermarkets and shopping centers as well as parks. They have a house, but what’s more, they have a community of people that understand what they have gone through living all around them. That’s more than a house. That’s a home.

Brad & Tim's Helping Hearts Foundation Residence