SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento woman and her non-profit organization, featured in an ABC10 story, are now looking to help others do what she’s doing.
Last month, ABC10 shared the story of Robin Moore, who decided to take action in the face of the homeless crisis. During the pandemic, she built four tiny homes in her backyard, established a non-profit organization, and now provides temporary shelter for unhoused families.
In the wake of ABC10’s reporting, she said, she has received dozens of calls from people-- some wanting to donate, others wanting to replicate what she’s doing and others in need of help.
Kristina Talley, along with her daughter, are no longer experiencing homelessness, thanks to the help of Robin Moore and her non-profit WEforce of California Inc. The non-profit operates Safe Harbor, which is a campus – literally in Moore’s backyard - with four tiny homes where families experiencing homelessness stay up to 90 days while earning enough money at their job to afford to get into an apartment. Since its launch in late 2021, Safe Harbor has helped 20 families – or about 50 people.
Talley graduated from the program and is now in stable housing.
“[It’s] beyond even what I could even imagine that could happen. And I'm like, ‘I deserve this?’ And they're telling me that I do,” she told ABC10 back in March.
In response to ABC10’s story, Moore said, generous people have come out of the woodwork.
"A lot of calls came in. A lot of donations came in,” she said. “People want to help."
Moore’s non-profit partners with another non-profit called "Family Promise of Sacramento", which launched in 2005.
“We've been very fortunate to have over 350 families graduate our program,” said Marsha Spell, executive director of Family Promise of Sacramento.
There is a spectrum of folks who are unhoused, Spell said. Family Promise and WEforce help families who are just on the verge of being able to get back into housing.
“It could be credit, it could be losing a job, it could be being evicted, it could be something as simple as the landlord selling their property,” Moore said. “And then - all of a sudden - you don't have first [and] last [month’s rent]. That's an issue right away. It drives you to a hotel, where you're trying to shelter yourself and your family, and - before you know it - you're in a cycle of just paying the hotel for a roof over your head.”
Family Promise of Sacramento does the intake and screening – plus ongoing case management - of the families who are eventually sent to Safe Harbor, in Moore’s own backyard.
“We run background checks. We do drug testing, periodically, while they stay with us. We do all the things: credit checks, everything that I need to know about that family,” Spell said.
Safe Harbor and Family Promise can only house four families at a time – for now. Prior to the pandemic, a network of churches housed the families, including Moore's church. When the pandemic forced that to pause, Moore came up with the idea to build four tiny homes in her backyard, to continue Family Promise's work.
“Right now, we're the only site for Family Promise. But I can foresee this being duplicated because now's the time to do that,” Moore said.
The need is great, they say – and the numbers illustrate that.
“I can get 25-30 intakes a day from people that need our services, where 14, 13 years ago, it might be 50 a month,” Spell said. “So we have seen the need grow dramatically.”
After ABC10’s story aired last month, both non-profits also heard from people experiencing homelessness.
“I made sure I either call them back or text them back or email them back,” Moore said. “Don't lose hope, I say. Don't give up. Keep reaching out…Something will break open for you.”
She says that after seeing the progress of the families who graduated from the Family Promise program, like Kristina Talley and her daughter.
“We’re wanting to be on the track of home purchasing,” Talley said. “And we are just really excited to get this party started because it's a forever thing, right?”
Talley isn’t alone in this pursuit.
“We've had 31 prior families in the last 13 years that I've been here that have bought homes. Some have started their own businesses. I've got a plumber and electrician,” Spell said. “They were in their cars just a few years back. Now they're homeowners, and they're active and donate back to Family Promise.”
It doesn’t take a lot to do what Moore is doing, she said.
“I personally started looking where I was: what can I do with what I have?” she said. “I don't need a lot to live well. And I have enough.”
If others want to do what Moore is doing, Spell said, Family Promise would be open to partnering with them.
“We have to get everything approved through our board, but – you know - it's a very good possibility of doing that,” she said. “Why not grow? And this is a great way of growing.”
The homeless crisis can feel so vast and overwhelming. What can any one person possibly do? Turns out-- a lot more than one might think.
“I was so honored that ABC10 would come and give a platform to-- I call myself a regular person,’ and I am!” Moore said, adding that the story “put out there what can happen in a community when people do want to do something. So it's important, this spotlight. It's important not just for myself and Family Promise, but it's important for the community to know what's going on, that people are coming together.”
Anyone interested in learning more about tiny homes as temporary shelters for unhoused families can reach out to Family Promise of Sacramento. Spell said Family Promise and WEforce have received so much interest in the wake of ABC10’s reporting, they’re considering offering a free class on what someone needs to know and do if they might want to be a part of the solution in this way.
“The only limits that you have are those that you put on yourself or those that someone else has put on you,” Moore said. “What does it hurt to ask and to try? At least if nothing happens, you've done that.”
Both non-profits also accept cash donations.
