The wildfire reached Sweet T’s restaurant in Santa Rosa on October 9th. It was gone in a matter of minutes–reduced to hot metal and ash. And so was Nina’s only source of income. Nina, 30, is a single mom living with her nine-year-old daughter, Kaylee, in the USA Properties Fund community of Terracina at Santa Rosa. Nina had […]
https://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.png00Katie Goadhttps://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.pngKatie Goad2017-12-28 15:39:342017-12-28 15:43:10Out of Ashes, Comes Hope
Watching the health of your lifelong partner decline is a heartbreaking experience. After a lifetime together, nothing really prepares you for the suffering you will witness or the exhaustion you will endure in becoming your spouse’s primary caregiver. Guillermo, a resident at AMCAL’s Hollenbeck Terrace, is a devoted husband who would do anything to help […]
https://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.png00Katie Goadhttps://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.pngKatie Goad2017-10-30 16:52:502017-10-30 16:52:50October Story of the Month – A Lifelong Commitment
Yanelly waited in line at her city’s food bank for hours, often to be turned away. She would walk back to her family’s home to face her younger brothers and sisters empty-handed. At 25 years old this was not the life she had imagined for herself. Yanelly had dreams of getting married, starting a family […]
https://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.png00Katie Goadhttps://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.pngKatie Goad2017-09-19 17:25:142017-09-19 17:25:14September Story of the Month: A Grateful American!
Editor’s note: This story is about resilience. All of us at some point in our lives have faced adversity–this special family from the heart of California was determined not to let it hold them back. Eva firmly taped the box closed and stacked it on top of several others against her living room wall. She […]
https://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.png00Katie Goadhttps://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.pngKatie Goad2017-05-26 14:04:252017-05-26 14:04:25May Story of the Month: The Right Impact, at the Right Time
Gabriel* came home from the LifeSTEPS After School Program (ASP) talking a mile a minute! He dropped his backpack by the door, exclaimed all his homework was done in his loudest “inside” voice, and hurried to the kitchen to share the highlights of his day with his mom and grandma. His words were mostly in […]
https://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.png00Katie Goadhttps://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.pngKatie Goad2017-04-28 09:21:472017-04-28 09:40:08April Story of the Month: Learning to Smile Again
For older adults, learning computer skills can be like learning a foreign language. It’s not their native tongue and at first all those tech phrases, like mousepad, cut/paste, and “right click,” seem like nonsensical babble. That’s what Don thought the first time he came to a LifeSTEPS computer class. Don, unlike many older adults living […]
https://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.png00Katie Goadhttps://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.pngKatie Goad2017-04-24 13:25:292017-04-24 13:25:29Lifelong Learning in the Digital Age
In October 2016, Mobile Beacon, a unique internet provider focused on nonprofits and educational organizations, awarded LifeSTEPS with a grant for a pilot digital inclusion program, which included 25 laptops and one year of internet access. The results so far have been outstanding, and we have been able to use these laptops in over 80 properties to date. […]
https://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.png00Katie Goadhttps://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.pngKatie Goad2017-04-20 13:02:032017-04-20 13:02:03Transformed through Technology
Danielle Martin was a new Partnership for HOPE scholar in 2016. Her path toward becoming a PFH scholar took many detours before Danielle was able to find stability in her life and in her education. Growing up in foster care and moving house to house, school to school was not conducive to educational success and […]
https://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.png00Gabe Ferreirahttps://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.pngGabe Ferreira2017-03-31 13:05:082017-03-31 13:05:08Partnership for HOPE Brings Education Goals within Reach!
When it comes to awarding JB Brown college scholarships, one USA Properties Fund community shines like a beacon on a hill, brighter than any other. In the heart of San Jose, the Mayfair Apartments are home to an extremely diverse population; many are recent immigrants and are still struggling to learn English. However, this doesn’t stop Jasmine […]
https://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.png00Katie Goadhttps://lifestepsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/30-Year-Full-Logo-with-Life-Skills-1-300x163.pngKatie Goad2017-03-21 12:52:092017-03-21 12:52:09JB Brown Fund Scholarships Ignite Hope!
Editor’s Note: Nearly 40% of the communities LifeSTEPS serves provide housing for older adults. As such, we have a strong commitment in helping older adults “age in place”. Most live on a fixed income. Some, because they may receive a small pension or have a modest retirement account, make too much to qualify for […]
Out of Ashes, Comes Hope
The wildfire reached Sweet T’s restaurant in Santa Rosa on October 9th. It was gone in a matter of minutes–reduced to hot metal and ash. And so was Nina’s only source of income. Nina, 30, is a single mom living with her nine-year-old daughter, Kaylee, in the USA Properties Fund community of Terracina at Santa Rosa. Nina had […]
October Story of the Month – A Lifelong Commitment
Watching the health of your lifelong partner decline is a heartbreaking experience. After a lifetime together, nothing really prepares you for the suffering you will witness or the exhaustion you will endure in becoming your spouse’s primary caregiver. Guillermo, a resident at AMCAL’s Hollenbeck Terrace, is a devoted husband who would do anything to help […]
September Story of the Month: A Grateful American!
Yanelly waited in line at her city’s food bank for hours, often to be turned away. She would walk back to her family’s home to face her younger brothers and sisters empty-handed. At 25 years old this was not the life she had imagined for herself. Yanelly had dreams of getting married, starting a family […]
May Story of the Month: The Right Impact, at the Right Time
Editor’s note: This story is about resilience. All of us at some point in our lives have faced adversity–this special family from the heart of California was determined not to let it hold them back. Eva firmly taped the box closed and stacked it on top of several others against her living room wall. She […]
April Story of the Month: Learning to Smile Again
Gabriel* came home from the LifeSTEPS After School Program (ASP) talking a mile a minute! He dropped his backpack by the door, exclaimed all his homework was done in his loudest “inside” voice, and hurried to the kitchen to share the highlights of his day with his mom and grandma. His words were mostly in […]
Lifelong Learning in the Digital Age
For older adults, learning computer skills can be like learning a foreign language. It’s not their native tongue and at first all those tech phrases, like mousepad, cut/paste, and “right click,” seem like nonsensical babble. That’s what Don thought the first time he came to a LifeSTEPS computer class. Don, unlike many older adults living […]
Transformed through Technology
In October 2016, Mobile Beacon, a unique internet provider focused on nonprofits and educational organizations, awarded LifeSTEPS with a grant for a pilot digital inclusion program, which included 25 laptops and one year of internet access. The results so far have been outstanding, and we have been able to use these laptops in over 80 properties to date. […]
Partnership for HOPE Brings Education Goals within Reach!
Danielle Martin was a new Partnership for HOPE scholar in 2016. Her path toward becoming a PFH scholar took many detours before Danielle was able to find stability in her life and in her education. Growing up in foster care and moving house to house, school to school was not conducive to educational success and […]
JB Brown Fund Scholarships Ignite Hope!
When it comes to awarding JB Brown college scholarships, one USA Properties Fund community shines like a beacon on a hill, brighter than any other. In the heart of San Jose, the Mayfair Apartments are home to an extremely diverse population; many are recent immigrants and are still struggling to learn English. However, this doesn’t stop Jasmine […]
LifeSTEPS Helps Older Adults Age-in-Place
Editor’s Note: Nearly 40% of the communities LifeSTEPS serves provide housing for older adults. As such, we have a strong commitment in helping older adults “age in place”. Most live on a fixed income. Some, because they may receive a small pension or have a modest retirement account, make too much to qualify for […]