Over the course of Raphael House’s 54-year history, we have served over 11,000 families experiencing homelessness. Raphael House clients come from a variety of unique backgrounds and circumstances, with the determination to create a stable, sustainable future for themselves. On average, 84% of our families exit our shelter to stable housing, and 94% of engaged Bridge Program participants maintain their stable housing.
Some of our clients have volunteered their stories as testaments to Raphael House’s impact on their lives.
Iryna, who stayed with us at Raphael House a number of years ago, is now a member of our Bridge Program. She and her family have successfully moved into an apartment of their own, and remember their time at Raphael House fondly.
When talking about her case manager, she recalls how he offered many different kinds of support—an ear to listen, resources for her emotional wellbeing, and workshops for the children. She spoke a little bit about her experience: “When you go through hard things, it’s really hard to go back to normal life. It’s a lot of pain and suffering, so it was super helpful to have support from Raphael House, and to watch how other the families were doing.”
Our staff still refers to Damian’s “lime green” birthday party (all the decorations were his favorite color). Iryna lit up while talking about it, grateful to remember all of Damian’s friends: “It was great to see that Raphael House brought everyone together to support each other. Damian was so excited! Everyone was singing, everyone was laughing. Previously, it was just us on our own. It was a totally different birthday party than he expected.”
For Iryna, Raphael House was a place for her to slow down and take the time to recalibrate her life. The words she heard most often during her stay were: “If you need anything, please let me know.” Iryna also made sure to offer herself as a volunteer. Ironically, her exact words were, “If you need anything, please let us know.”
Read more from our residents in our Annual Report
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