A formerly homeless mother who fought to escape the grips of domestic violence and to get her family off the streets and into an apartment couldn’t believe her eyes Wednesday when her once-bare living space all the sudden had all the furniture she needed inside.
Emmy Medellin and her two children were homeless for seven months before finally landing in an apartment in San Ysidro. Though they had a roof over their head, they were sleeping on the floor and doing homework in the dark.
Luckily for them, Humble Design came to the rescue.
Humble Design is a non-profit that gathers donated furniture and furnishes the homes of once-homeless families who need a little bit of help.
Within three hours, a parade of volunteers moved beds, desks, tables and chairs into the Medellin’s second-story apartment and made it feel like a home.
Humble Design co-founder Treger Strasberg was happy to help the Medellins, who she called a lovely family. With the help of her volunteer interior designer, Amber Courtney, they worked a miracle in one afternoon.
“To be able to make somebody else’s life better, it's worth it. Job done,” Courtney said.
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“The family coming home and seeing their whole life change in one afternoon is the reason I keep doing this. It's such a wonderful feeling,” Strasberg said.
When it came time for the home re-reveal, tears of joy took over Emmy and her kids’ faces.
“Oh my god! Thank you so much! My god!” Emmy exclaimed when the door to her transformed abode was opened.
Her daughter could hardly contain herself when she entered her furnished room for the first time. Soon the family stopped searching for words to say and just hugged each other.
‘This is emotionally amazing for me. It's something like a miracle for me, for my kids,” Emmy said.
Now it's all theirs. A family, safe, together, at home.
