A Safety Net for Homeless Families

First, the pandemic took everything from them. Then it was a devastating wildfire. But Sonny, his wife Valerie, and their three-year-old daughter Daphnie Dae weren’t alone. The family never stopped working hard to get back on their feet, and found our programs at True North to be their saving grace and support when they needed it most.

When the pandemic hit, Sonny and Valerie both lost their jobs and had no way to pay their bills or rent. They were evicted in the early days of the global disaster, when there were no protections in place for renters.

Then, when they moved to a family member’s property to try to start over, they lost everything again when the North Complex Fire barreled through and burned everything they had left.

“It’s been hard on our hearts, the whole experience, because we’ve gone through so much,” Sonny said. “It can happen to anybody.”

They stayed in a hotel for a little while, but the family struggled to find a place to rent that they could afford. They ended up in their vehicle at the Chico Municipal Airport, where the city of Chico had set up a temporary resting site for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Sonny said his family was “beating the pavement every day” applying for apartments. They paid hundreds of dollars in rental application fees but only found dead ends. And then they began to run out of options: The temporary site at the airport was going to close soon.

That’s when they met our team at True North, Sonny said, and it saved them. Our team knew the airport temporary site was closing, so we conducted outreach there to help people in need. We got Sonny, Valerie and Daphnie Dae into our Aurora North Housing Program for families right away. They have been living in a safe, warm home with other families and working hard to get back on their feet and into permanent housing.

Sonny said that Aurora North has allowed his family to find stability and focus on their future. It’s been an amazing experience for Daphnie, he added. She is thriving in an environment with so much support and socialization.

“This is a blessing. We love it here,” he said. “If True North didn’t care as much as they do, we wouldn’t have nearly as much help. We’re getting so much more because it’s not just people sitting in a chair. That extra care goes a long way. They’ve really helped us.”