Penny Nardelli is accustomed to walking gently in the world, quietly leaving a big imprint in people’s lives through thoughtful and deliberate deeds. When her friend, the late businesswoman and philanthropist, Virginia Greene asked her to sit on the fledgling Streetohome Board in 2008, she was hesitant to take on such a prominent role.
Home means a bright family future
Zahra and Silvia are two single mothers living in YWCA housing who found the support needed to provide a better life for their daughters. Walking into YWCA Como Lake Gardens, you enter a warm, family friendly apartment building. With a common room full of toys, a large play area and well-kept communal garden, it is the kind of housing any mother would want to live in with her child.
Finding the words: Kris’s Story
When he was just 13 years old, Kris went down to the kitchen to find a letter with his father’s name on it. When he opened it, he slowly realized it was in his mother’s handwriting. She was telling her husband that she was leaving him and their three children. One week later, his father died in a car crash. Kris was devastated.
Finding Help & Offering it: Kathy’s Story
When Kathy and her young son with disabilities were at risk of homelessness and needed help, she turned to the YWCA’s Single Mothers’ Support Services and affordable housing program. She eventually returned to school to become a community support worker and now gives back through her work.
Crossing the finish line: Shelly’s Story
As an advocate for women who face issues with addictions, Shelly is an inspiration, because she’s walked the talk. Five years ago, she kicked her addictions with drugs and alcohol to go back to school and rebuild her life.
Mom Saved by Vancouver Rent Bank
For Christine and her daughter, an $1800 emergency loan from the Vancouver Rent Bank saved them from losing their home.
Being welcomed into Christine’s home you wouldn’t know she had been nearly homeless 10 months prior. The Marpole house she rents with her daughter Daisy, cat, birds and fish is not only where they live, but has been their family home for over eight years.
Maverick developer helps find solutions to homelessness
Eric Carlson comes from middle-class roots, but with grit, hard work, and a relentless entrepreneurial spirit, today he heads one of B.C.’s biggest property development and management companies. He loves business, the art of the deal, and the infinite power of leveraging to create something bigger than you can alone.
Rent Bank to the Rescue: Arlene’s Story
Arlene had always been an independent career woman, working her entire life to support herself and – later on – her elderly mother. She never would have expected to need the kindness of others to keep her from losing her one-bedroom apartment in Marpole.
streetohome: in Vancouver sun
Streetohome is exploring how to broker and leverage additional pathways out of homelessness in Vancouver that include employment and addiction recovery. Streetohome hosted a visited from Mimi Silbert, the leader of successful Delancey Street model that addresses individuals housing, employment, healthcare and education needs. Read Lori Culbert’s story in the Vancouver Sun and Province. Excerpt from the Vancouver Sun article: “Silbert’s trip … Read More
Giving Back with Holistic and Sustainable Solutions
If anyone knows the importance of a hand-up, it’s David (Divyesh) Gadhia, whose family fled from Uganda’s brutal regime in 1972 when he was 10. He remembers the anxiety his parents felt as immigrants trying to build a new life in a part of the world where they knew no one. He also remembers the community support available to the family to make their landing just a little bit softer.
