Success Stories

When Erica arrived at Angel Guardian, Good Shepherd Center's permanent supportive housing program for unhoused mothers with disabling conditions, she was in survival mode — fleeing domestic violence and striving to raise three children while working and attending school. Though she managed to provide for her family, stable housing remained just out of reach. That changed the day she found her way to GSC.

Erica and her children moved into Angel Guardian in 2008. Life changed again in 2011 when she underwent emergency brain surgery. In that critical moment, the GSC staff stepped in to ensure her children were fed, cared for, and safely attending school.

Beyond safe housing, GSC gave Erica and her children access to essential services, including mental health support, financial literacy, life coaching, and self-care.

There were also so many meaningful moments with my children. Holidays at GSC were special — not just because of the gifts, but because of the generosity and care behind them. I'll never forget Thanksgiving celebrations or the day we went to Disneyland.

Some impacts have lasted a lifetime. A volunteer piano teacher inspired my son John, and he still plays to this day.

Today, my family is thriving. My son John is stationed in Virginia and recently became a father, making me a proud Abuelita. My daughter Sofie is an archaeologist working with an Indigenous tribe, and Hazel is a certified massage therapist. I'm now married, raising my 9-year-old son, and part of a loving blended family.

Looking back, I know how important it was to truly engage in the program.

Leaving GSC was scary at first, but I was prepared.

To the mothers who are there now:

And to everyone who made my journey possible:

At 24 years old, I had a lot to look forward to. Although I was pregnant with twin boys and chose not to continue the relationship with their father, things were going to be OK. My mother assured me that together we would raise the boys.

On the day that my son, Nehemiah, was born, his twin was stillborn. While I was in the delivery room, my mother had a stroke. She passed away five days later. Having lost my grandparents earlier in the year and now my mother and son, it was more than I could handle. This is what started the downward spiral on my path toward homelessness.

My coping skills were pushed to the limit and I was unable to share what was happening with my employer. As a result I lost my job. Knowing I needed to care for my son, I found a job as a substitute teacher assistant working with special education children. Working part time, I found it difficult to pay rent and soon I was homeless, taking Nehemiah with me.

After experiencing life on skid row, I found Good Shepherd Center. Four years after losing my mother and son, I moved into an apartment at GSC's newest shelter, Farley House. The receptionist greeted me with a smile and had a pleasant and welcoming disposition. During the time that I was homeless my car was impounded because I was driving without a license. It was later sold and many of my belongings were never recovered. I am receiving counseling to deal with the trauma I have endured. I plan to continue my education by taking classes at LACC with a long term goal of working in social services.

I am working with my Case Manager at Good Shepherd Center to restructure my resumé so I can pursue a full time permanent position. It is hard to find direction when you don't know where you will be sleeping tonight or even next week. Now there is no pressure.

I am grateful that my son now has a safe environment to live in and is enrolled in pre-K. He loves it here and loves the people.

From the time I was a teen-ager, life was difficult. My mother lacked the means to support us and was evicted from the apartment we were living in. Not knowing where to turn, I took to the streets, staying with friends and relatives for brief periods of time. While living this precarious lifestyle, I gave birth to two children who were eventually placed in foster care.

Getting my children back provided the motivation I needed to change my lifestyle. My older sister learned about Good Shepherd Center through an online search and encouraged me to call. I called Languille Shelter the next morning and was relieved to learn that they had a bed available.

During my stay at Good Shepherd Center I continued to go to court to try to get custody of my children, but in order to gain custody, I needed to provide them with stable housing. In December I moved into Farley House, Good Shepherd Center's home for women and children. After this move, I was granted permission for my children to visit. I was granted custody a month later and the children moved into Farley House to live with me.

Although custody was foremost on my mind from the very beginning, I also made great progress in achieving my goal of supporting myself and my children financially. With the help of Vocational Rehabilitation, I completed training to become a security guard.

In addition, I attended Life Skills classes and found that the nutrition and parenting classes were especially helpful. My children and I moved into our very own apartment in March.

I am grateful to Good Shepherd Center for the support I received to reunify with my children and to transition to a more stable, independent life. I will continue to receive support through Good Shepherd Center's aftercare program.

When my daughter Chilah and I graduated from the GSC program, I realized that leaving Minnesota had finally proven to be a smart move for us. After two years at Good Shepherd Center, going through the culinary arts training program at The Village Kitchen and the Department of Aging (DOA) training program, I was more confident and in a better financial position to claim a life of independence. Chilah had been working at Universal Studios for two years and we agreed to pool our resources and get a nice apartment together.

I also recognize that being successful was dependent on putting forth a lot of effort into the program and what it had to offer.

While a resident at Good Shepherd Center, I attended all the life skills classes that were offered, going into them with the attitude that I would get a lot out of them, and I was never disappointed. I knew that what I was doing up to that point wasn't working and I attended classes and workshops with an open mind. Thank you Good Shepherd Center angels.

I was living in Las Vegas when I lost my job and soon after that my apartment. I came to Los Angeles thinking the job prospects would be better but was unable to find a place to stay. Saint Joseph's Center referred me to the Languille Shelter. During my stay at the shelter I worked as a site supervisor during tax preparation season, and as an auditor for a small property management company. I lost my job as an auditor, due to the company's financial problems and tax season coming to an end.

GSC assisted me in registering with SER (Senior Employment Resources) and I was assigned to St. Barnabas as my worksite. My supervisor was impressed by my job performance and within 6 months I was offered a full time position.

I am still employed full time by St. Barnabas, am working on-call at Cedars Sinai Hospital and am pursuing my Bachelors Degree in Human Services with the University of Phoenix.

I am determined to work and to provide for myself but I am thankful to Good Shepherd Center for being there when I needed them. They provided a safe, clean place to stay, assistance with employment and words of encouragement.

I was a well-paid professional and worked for the same organization for nearly 15 years. At 54 years of age, I was happy when they offered me severance pay and an opportunity to take early retirement. I hadn't had a vacation in years, so I took a much needed vacation before beginning the process of looking for another job. Soon I had used up my severance pay, my unemployment benefits, and was shocked when still I had not found a job. I quickly went from being a professional with a stable job to homeless and in a deep depression. I never thought it could happen to me.

I heard stories of women living on skid row, sleeping on park benches, in the park or riding the bus all night. Thankfully I am one of the fortunate ones. I was given a referral to Good Shepherd Center. The staff and the sisters were wonderful to me. Soon the depression began to lift. The case manager at the shelter assisted me in applying for the benefits to which I was entitled due to my years of working.

During my stay at Good Shepherd Center I was able to save enough money to get my own apartment and begin to rebuild my life. I am enrolled in an art class at the community college, something I did not have time for when I was a full time employee. Now, my life as a senior more closely resembles what I had always imagined, rather than what it could have been had I not been so fortunate to have had the help of Good Shepherd Center.

My mother meant the world to me! We shared a home and I was employed by the state to be her caregiver. So when she died I lost everything—my job, my home, and most importantly, my very best friend. Since I no longer had a job I was soon unable to pay the rent. I turned to my family for help. However they were all dealing with their own problems. The best I was offered was the floor at my nephew's apartment for a couple of weeks while I begged for donations to give my mother a proper burial.

I was a riding the bus in downtown Los Angeles, feeling alone and abandoned, when I struck up a conversation with a woman sitting next to me. Little did I know at the time, this lady was about to change my life. She told me about a woman's shelter called Good Shepherd Center. I called the number she gave me and spoke with a case manger. The next day I was admitted into their program.

When I entered GSC I had nothing and I was ready to make a change. I paid close attention to the advice and the opportunities that the staff at Good Shepherd Center offered me. I attended the life skills workshops, took computer classes, and attended the residents meetings. I read the self-help books provided by GSC, attended the book discussion groups, the job club, and a peer facilitated support group. I am so grateful for all the classes and activities provided by Good Shepherd Center.

Through the employment program, I obtained a job at an adult day care center in a job training program, where I am still employed today. My job entails a variety of duties; from receptionist, to food preparation and serving the residents of the senior day care center.

I moved into my own apartment in August, nearly two years after entering Good Shepherd's program. Without the assistance I received from the sisters and the staff, I don't know where I would have ended up. They helped give me a new start on life. My greatest pleasure today is that I am able to have my grandchildren spend the weekend with me in my new home.

It's been almost a year since I left Good Shepherd Center/Catholic Charities and I am happy to report that this year I opened my own Bakery in upstate Pennsylvania. As The Village Kitchen staff can attest to, I absolutely love to bake and it just seemed like the perfect fit.

I have been an observational learner my whole life. When I worked at The Village Kitchen I observed everything around me; from food ordering, to how things are stored and labeled. I learned how to prepare bakery items so that there is always a constant and fresh stock of pastries and other menu items for the customers. I overheard conversations about how to get the best food prices; where to purchase them and when they should be purchased. The biggest thing I learned was to create your menu around what you are already using in order to control food costs better. That has really helped me with my own bakery.

I took it all in because I knew I was not there by accident. God was showing me something that was very dear to my heart. During good times, hectic times, not so great times, I always soothed myself by baking up some cookies or cupcakes or whatever else I felt like baking. Baking was always a way I dealt with stress. It made everything better, although I could never begin to explain why. I guess I have a gift and it brings me to bliss to create something wonderful out of sugar, flour and eggs!

The time I spent at Good Shepherd Center and The Village Kitchen, I looked upon as a blessing to advance my own life and livelihood. I paid attention to everything and everyone. The hands on experience was worth so much! The Food Manager Classes and testing sealed the deal.

With my Professional Food Manager Card I knew I could do almost anything in the restaurant industry. It's like a card that validates you. Without it, my choices would have been very limited as far as my food career advancement. That card alone has opened so many doors for me since I left TVK. And now I run my own bakery and I am busier than I ever thought possible. I feel very blessed and I have Good Shepherd Center, the staff, and the training I received to thank for that.

I wish there were words to express my everlasting gratitude. Your program gave me a second chance and changed my life forever. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

When Project Achieve, a program of Catholic Charities, and a multi-service center with a 60 day emergency shelter, referred me to Good Shepherd Center, I was a mess. I had been living on the streets, in parks, and in homeless shelters for the past few years and I had a misdemeanor for drug possession. The staff at GSC made me feel as though I was "in God's hands."

During my time at Good Shepherd Center, I was always grateful for the staff that "ran a tight ship" but also had compassion and never made me feel less than. During my short stay at the Languille Shelter, I was able to complete my community service and enroll in the culinary arts training program at Good Shepherd Center's—The Village Kitchen (TVK). I especially loved the team work I experienced while working there.

As a graduate of the TVK program, I applied for several jobs, and am proud to be working at a restaurant located in Echo Park. It was important for me to get a job where I could use the skills I learned while working at TVK.

I have been able to save money while living at GSC and although I am grateful for the support and services, I am looking forward to getting my own apartment. My goal has always been to save up and move out. It's time to move on.

I came from a healthy, happy home. I had a good job as a massage therapist and intentions of becoming an acupuncturist. When I broke up with my boyfriend of 14 years, I decided to move to California to start over. Once in Los Angeles, I learned that my license to practice as a massage therapist was not honored here and that you need a separate license for each city in which you plan to work. Realizing the expense involved in getting licensed again, I began to look for work. When my resources ran out and I could not find a job, I found a place to stay at Union Rescue Mission. This was the first time I had ever experienced homelessness.

While staying at Union Rescue, I learned about the culinary arts training program through Good Shepherd Center. I expressed an interest to my case manager and was given a referral to Hawkes Residence in hopes of participating in the training program at The Village Kitchen. I moved into Hawkes in July and began working in The Village Kitchen soon after. In October I graduated from the program and began working at a restaurant on the USC campus. I was promoted to team leader and am now the Kitchen Manager. Now that I have steady employment my next goal is to get an apartment.

In April I went to live at Good Shepherd Center with all my possessions packed in a single black plastic trash bag. I was hungry, humiliated and beaten. Life had taken a toll on me. They told me it would get better, and I had to believe them. Hope was my most valuable possession.

Not long after moving into Good Shepherd Center I was able to move into my own apartment. This was the first time I had ever had a place of my own, and I felt like a teenager going off to college for the first time. The main difference was that I had a job to go to the next day.

I would not be here today if it were not for the support I received while I was at Good Shepherd Center. From the time I arrived to the day I left, Good Shepherd was with me all the way!

I met a guy on the internet and he seemed like a really great person. I spent all my savings for a plane ticket to Los Angeles so we could be together. As it turned out, he was very controlling and after just a few days became abusive. I did not have any family or friends here and had no one to turn to. I was sitting alone in the park, crying, not knowing what to do when a kind lady with a kleenex sat down beside me. She told me that she had once been in a similar situation and gave me a phone number to call. She was very persistent and would not leave until I made the call.

On the phone I spoke to a case manager at Good Shepherd Center who told me they had a bed available. I jumped at the opportunity! Living in a home with 29 other women was a bit intimidating. However I also felt that I had a built in support system and some direction. Some of the women were challenging to deal with but others were truly delightful. I soon realized that these were regular women just like me; not drug addicts and people with no ambition but women just like me.

The first thing I wanted to do was get a job. But the case manager told me that I needed to go to the emergency room to take care of the gash on my face that my friend had provided as a going away gift. It was clear that she really cared about my well-being. Then she sent me to a job coach so he could assist me in developing a resume and to brush up on my computer skills.

Today I have my own apartment, a job that I love and a cat as a companion. I have fond memories of the kindness I received while at the shelter. If it were not for Good Shepherd Center and the direction and love that they showed me, I would have ended up on Skid Row or sleeping in a park somewhere. I have a couple friends that I met at the shelter and we have a built in support system and somewhere to turn when times get tough. I am really grateful for the lady with the kleenex and her persistence that I make the call to Good Shepherd.