A New Leaf

A New Leaf provides food, shelter, and safety to families facing homelessness and domestic violence across the Valley. If you believe that every family should have a home and that every child should be safe from abuse, then make a donation today! Change lives in your local community today by making a gift in support of our neighbors in need.

Homelessness can happen after one missed paycheck. Domestic violence can trap victims in a dangerous, abusive situation. These crisis situations are heartbreaking, but you can make an impact for someone in crisis. Donate to A New Leaf today and you will be directly providing food, shelter, and support for families in crisis!

A New Leaf's homeless shelters are located across the Valley, giving safe shelter to families and individuals in need. Every person staying at a shelter is given assistance with finding work, transportation, new housing, and more. Staff members work closely with every family and individual to make sure that they never have to face homelessness again.

A New Leaf's domestic violence services offer immediate protection at one of A New Leaf's domestic violence shelters. Survivors are given access to court advocacy, child care, jobs training, and more, all to help them achieve independence and long-term safety.

Testimonials

For nearly twenty years, Clemencia and Rodolfo worked hard and focused on one thing: giving their children a stable home. Rodolfo worked in masonry and construction, and Clemencia cared for their family and later worked as a caregiver for seniors. “We’ve always worked,” Rodolfo says. “Everything we did was for our children. As long as they had a roof and food, we felt like we were doing our job.”

That stability collapsed when Rodolfo suffered a serious injury on the job. He couldn’t work consistently during recovery, and the family’s primary income disappeared. Bills piled up quickly, and without savings to fall back on, the pressure became overwhelming. “In twenty years, I never thought we’d be here,” Rodolfo says. “I’ve always been the provider. When I couldn’t work, everything started to fall apart.”

With no steady income, housing became fragile. Over the course of several months, the family moved wherever they could, sleeping in their car, on friends’ couches, and even in backyards. Clemencia and Rodolfo did everything they could to shield their children from the worst of the instability, even as each option ran out. “We tried to make it work wherever we were,” Clemencia says. “Couches, friends’ homes, anything to keep our kids safe. When there was nowhere, we slept in the car.”

They tried to save for a deposit and rent, but it never added up. Often, they had to pay for a cheap hotel room just so the family could shower, sleep, and keep the kids ready for school. “We were trying to save,” Rodolfo says. “But we kept having to spend money just to make it to the next day.”

Desperately looking for resources, they found A New Leaf’s West Valley Housing Assistance Center online. They applied, waited, and hoped. When they were accepted into shelter a few days later, it marked the first real period of rest the family had experienced in months. “When we got here, it felt like we could finally breathe,” Clemencia says. “Our kids were safe. That was the biggest thing.”

At A New Leaf, the family found stability and support. With help from their case manager, they began applying for jobs, attending interviews, and searching for an apartment, this time with a realistic plan forward. “We aren’t panicking anymore and we can be patient enough to make the right choices,” Rodolfo says.

Today, Clemencia and Rodolfo are actively rebuilding. Clemencia is looking for work that fits their children’s schedules, and Rodolfo is exploring the administrative side of construction so he can keep working without worrying about his injury. “I still want to provide,” Rodolfo says. “I just need work I can do long-term and A New Leaf is helping me find that.”

Through everything, their family has stayed close. They still enjoy cooking together, riding bikes, and holding onto routines that give their children a sense of normalcy. “We just want stability,” Clemencia says. “A home. Somewhere our kids don’t have to worry. We have that now.”