Sr. Ella Rigney and a work crew from the Holy Order of MANS renovate the Golden Gate Hospital transforming it to the new Raphael House. The new shelter will serve entire families, with private bedrooms and a capacity of 50 beds. The city of San Francisco donated $50,000 to help to bring the building to code.

The newly renovated Raphael House opened during the week of Thanksgiving 1977 becoming the only family shelter in San Francisco.

The Rooftop Garden play area is completed. Families now have a beautiful and safe environment to enjoy the outdoors.

942 adults and children stayed at Raphael House this year with an average stay of 15 days.

Mayor Dianne Feinstein declares the week of Thanksgiving to be “Raphael House Week” in San Francisco.

Due in part to the rising costs of rent in San Francisco families resided at Raphael Hous for longer periods of time. The average length of stay is 26 days, up from 15 the previous year.230 families were (541 adults and children) sheltered at Raphael House this year

Raphael House expands it's services to include and informal Follow-Up program. This program is designed to help families furnish their apartments after they move out of Raphael House.

“In the winter of 1982 the plight of America’s homeless became a nationwide issue written by Executive Director, Sr. Elizabeth Fries. This added exposure provides provides much needed media attention from local and national news outlets.

Sr. Ella Rigney, age 94, initiates an Annual children’s Art Show at Raphael House.

Sr. Elizabeth Fries moves to the Portland, Oregon Raphael House. Br. Mark Story becomes Executive Director.

The staff of Raphael House enters the Orthodox Christian Church. All staff, including degreed professionals, continue to work as unpaid religious volunteers, living at Raphael House as members of Christ the Saviour Brotherhood.

Raphael House serves 216 families (266 parents, 385 children) in 1988, but the average length of stay returns to its earlier low of 15 days! The reason for the fast move out rate is some excellent city programs to help with move-in costs, as well as private Foundation grants given to Raphael House to expedite family move-in costs.

Live-in volunteer program for Orthodox staff instituted.

Raphael House begins a Christmas Adopt-a-family program where
100 former resident families recieve gifts and nessecary items provided by the local community.

The Raphael House gift store moves to it's current location on Sutter St.

Raphael House incorporates separately from Christ the Saviour Brotherhood. Fr. David Lowell becomes Executive Director. Ella Rigney continues as Director Emeritus. A new community-based Board is formed. Dr. Francis Rigney, Jr., retired Chief of Staff at Presbyterian Hospital and son of Ella Rigney, becomes Board Chair.

Twenty years after Raphael House opens its doors, staff members receive their first paychecks on July 1, 1991.

Financial transition plan, conceived in 1989 and 1990 by CFO Michael Ennis, is completed. Raphael House achieves first balanced budget (1.2 million) since the addition of paid staff. We have 45 full and part time staff.

Computer lab for families opens.

Raphael House receives three prestigious awards:

• The John R. May Award from the San Francisco foundation for innovation in the face of a pressing social need.
• The Management Center’s Award for Excellence in Non-Profit Management.
• The Sara Lee Leadership Award for the impact Raphael House has had in creating a supportive model that has shaped the program designs of other shelter and transitional housing programs in the community at large.

Most families can no longer afford to live in San Francisco without subsidy of some form. Raphael House begins actively helping families relocate to other communities, within and beyond the Bay Area. Online research makes this exploration easier. AfterCare staff continue to follow-up with families after they relocate. (Note: relocations are all housed outcomes).

Because of the very high rent and move-in costs, families now need to stay four to six months at Raphael House in order to save up the several thousand dollars needed before signing a lease.

After school tutoring program for children increases in size. All school age children at Raphael House participate.

Welfare Reform has a dramatic impact on Raphael House families. On a typical weekday morning, every parent is in school or a training program (if they don’t already have a job).

Children’s Program Director Carol Cole draws up plans to expand children’s services to include licensed Day Care.

Brother Juniper’s Restaurant closes after twenty years as one of the most affordable and popular breakfast spots in town. Although Brother Juniper’s consistently brought in $20,000 in net profit for Raphael House, the need to modernize the kitchen makes continued profitability doubtful. In addition, we have other needs for the space.

With the generosity of GENSLER and DPR Construction and their consortium of vendors, the business community in San Francisco entirely donates the transformation of the old restaurant into a new tutorial center for the children of Raphael House. The new After School Tutorial Center opens in November of 1999, providing a bright open area for after school tutoring, art projects, music, on-on-one remedial work and computer training.

Three credentialed teachers and a host of regular volunteers join in to make the After school tutoring center a wonderful facility for 30 school age children in the course of every school year.

Children’s Program Director Carol Cole opens Sophia House in West Oakland, a family Day Care Center, serving families of Raphael House who have relocated to the East Bay.

Sophia House is a separately incorporated agency working closely with Raphael House to provide a seamless delivery of service to former residents. AfterCare activities in addition to Day Care, also take place at Sophia House.

Seismic retrofit and code compliance construction is completed on Raphael House Thrift Store and AfterCare Center by September 8, 2001.

Events of September 11th shock the world. Some children are afraid to go up to play on the roof garden for several weeks. Charitable giving is temporarily diverted on a national level. Already weak stock market drops dramatically.

Since going to six-month stays in 1997 and 1998, Raphael House consistently serves 40 families a year in our residential program and around 200 former resident families. In 2001, we serve 203 former resident families, totaling 779 parents and children.

Capital campaign is successfully completed! Raphael House totally owns its properties at a combined cost of 3.1 million dollars, paid in full.

Economy is in terrible shape. Raphael House experiences manageable deficit in operational budget.

Counter-intuitively (until you think about it for a minute) families have a much easier time exiting homelessness for stable housing. The bust of the dot.com bubble has loosened the housing market considerably.

Sophia House completes its capital campaign and now owns its West Oakland house outright.

With charitable and foundation giving depressed, Raphael House eliminates 11 positions over two years (starting in 2002) and many remaining staff take voluntary pay cuts. Management staff fill in, cooking meals, working in the Thrift Store, etc. Surprisingly, morale is good. No services to families are cut in any way.

Raphael House completes the year with a balanced budget (slightly under 1.7 million).

Raphael House continues to operate with a balanced budget.

Staff who took voluntary pay cuts return to full pay at mid-year.

Long rang planning committee prepares ten-year plan to build permanent housing with supportive children’s programs. This plan will be submitted to the Raphael House Board of Directors in 2005.