Let’s start from the beginning! Tell us a little about the journey that led you to where you are now.
In 2014, my spouse Melissa and I began exploring the possibility of becoming adoptive parents. As a part of this journey, we volunteered in the foster care space where we met a young person who had aged out of the system and was looking for a permanent space to call home. After seeing a social media post about me designing a friend’s home, they reached out and asked me to visit their first-ever apartment. When we arrived, we found an entirely empty apartment — no furniture, no appliances, and nothing but the floor to sleep on. We quickly responded by asking for donated items from our community and in one day we turned the empty space into a home. I ended up receiving quite a few additional opportunities to help young people in similar situations shortly after that.
Through this experience, we uncovered a critical gap in services for youth transitioning out of foster care. Many of these young people lacked the basic resources needed to establish a home, a situation affecting thousands across Los Angeles and the nation. In fact, 50% of the homeless population in the U.S. has spent time in foster care. Despite searching extensively for nonprofits or services addressing this crisis, I came up a bit short.
In 2015, I founded A Sense of Home (ASOH) to meet this need. Our mission is to create first-ever homes for former foster youth, helping to prevent homelessness and encourage a new trajectory for their lives. ASOH offers more than just housing — we create spaces filled with love, hope, and connections to a community that cares. This is the cornerstone of our work because it contributes to a lasting impact.
Our unique approach lies in the “how.” With a small staff, we mobilize volunteers to design and build homes. By involving the community, we ensure that each young person feels truly seen, heard, and valued. This impact extends beyond the recipients, as volunteers themselves are profoundly changed by the experience. The home creation process is both a ceremony and a celebration, honoring each recipient’s resilience, achievements, and unique gifts. It provides an opportunity for volunteers to share their talents and heart for others, contributing to the ripple effect of positivity spread throughout the community.
Since our beginning days, ASOH has touched thousands of lives. With the help of over 20,000 community volunteers, we’ve created more than 1,000 homes, positively impacting nearly 3,000 former foster youth.