Eli Home   

The Eli Home (Eli) began in 1983, opened its shelter program in 1984 in response to a critical community need, and incorporated it in 1986. Eli pioneered the approach we still use today: we house homeless abused and neglected children and their moms and offer services to improve their relationship. Moms, often also victims of abuse, heal along with their children. Staff teach and help moms implement positive parenting skills and remove emotional, financial and legal barriers. Moms leave the shelter able to transition to permanent supportive or other stable housing and lead violence-free lives, strong champions for their children against possible abusers. In 2008 Eli added Shared Housing for shelter program graduates unable to secure other housing (due to poor credit, lack of rental or employment history, etc.). Added in 2009, Eli's place-based East Street Community Renewal Initiative (ESCRI) targets child abuse on a systemic level by addressing unemployment and poverty, stressors that increase the likelihood of family violence, in a low income, disenfranchised, high crime area in Anaheim. ESCRI's 100 Chances program matches at-risk youth with business mentors with the goal of employment. Eli's retail store provides operational revenue for the agency and job training for shelter moms and others at risk in the community. A natural and convenient first point of contact between staff and prospective ESCRI participants has helped Eli establish a deep connection with the community. To address the growing problem of addiction among the homeless families we serve, Eli created the Children of Addicts Recovery Program (CARP) in 2019. Unlike any other local recovery program, CARP keeps homeless moms and children together to prevent children becoming lost in the system. Children of addicts are the “silent sufferers” of the national drug/alcohol addiction crisis and data shows they are a generation of children who are raising themselves because their parents are unable to do so.