Ruth Campbell, here with one of her granddaughters, is part of The Residences on Main community in Los Angeles.

Our LIHTC equity investment helped create this new permanent, supportive housing for homeless individuals and their families.

For one family’s story, watch our video — and see our housing mission in action.

When you meet Ruth Campbell, you’re immediately struck by her joyful personality and resilience — by her warmth and laughter, the love she has for her family and community, and her strength of purpose.

“Compassion, that’s my passion,” Ruth says. Ruth’s life is about caring for others and giving back.  “People have been through some things — I know I’ve been through some things,” Ruth says.

Ruth’s Journey

A retired special education teacher and a widow, Ruth cares for seven members of her family.  When she was still teaching, Ruth adopted a daughter — one of her disabled students who is now grown and living in her care.  In more recent years, Ruth also became the guardian of her six grandchildren, after her daughter died following breast cancer.

The Campbell family suddenly found themselves homeless when a major flood destroyed their apartment. They moved into a motel and stayed with friends before finally ending up at a shelter.

Ruth would wake up at 4 a.m. on Thanksgiving and other holidays to make sweet potato pies for every family in the shelter. “It’s just a joy to do something to help someone else,” she says.

The Residences on Main

Now that they have their own apartment at The Residences on Main, Ruth and her family are stabilized and looking forward to the future. “Ten years from now I want [these children] to have steady income and an education. A good mindset,” says Ruth. “Above all things, a good attitude and being able to reach out and help somebody else less fortunate than them.” Even though she’s no longer living at the shelter, Ruth still goes back to cook for the families there and deliver her pies.  

The Residences on Main not only provides safe, quality housing. It also helps residents become self-sufficient through job counseling and an array of mental and other supportive services.

“The funding that goes into these project-based buildings is pivotal,” says James Battee, the resident services coordinator at the property. “For Freddie Mac to step in and be able to provide the funds to do so, is amazing and life-changing.”  

Partners: The National Equity Fund, LA Family Housing and the Coalition for Responsible Community Development.