Extreme (Limited) Home Make Over - Margaret’s House Edition

For over 7 years, a small hospitality home in the suburbs of Bellflower known as Margaret’s House has been providing a short-term, safe, and dignified space for families transitioning into permanent housing. To continue to serve the families that stay at Margaret’s House well, we’re making some updated changes to the program and property.

What are the current plans for Margaret’s House?

We are currently taking steps towards implementing a mentorship program in order to provide more holistic support as the mentors work with case managers to walk alongside families seeking permanent housing. This new structure will provide opportunities for families to receive increased care including mentorship, additional connections to the larger community, encouragement, enrichment and life skill activities.

Additionally, we are renovating Margaret's House to meet the needs of families residing on the property. Changes include aspects, such as providing increased pantry and fridge space for each family, adding color to the children's rooms, and making updates to needed electrical and plumbing areas in order to become more energy efficient.

How will the new plans for Margaret’s House support the families?

The purpose of the new KCB mentorship program is to create a strong and well developed support system empowering families towards success and stability while expanding the future capacity of Margaret’s House and having a greater impact on the community. Research shows that mentorship has been used as a means of providing extra support to families as they work toward permanent housing. Individual peer mentorship provides opportunities for parents to feel cared for, supported, and empowered amidst learning more effective ways of coping with the stresses of parenting while homeless. Additionally, implementing a mentorship component to Margaret’s House would provide built-in staff, family, and program support. As a result, case managers and program directors will have expanded capacity to serve their clients, and families will gain increased community and accountability. Also, there will be increased on-site safety, security, and maintenance needs.

Updating the physical property will help meet some of the expressed needs of families while also allowing KCB to be good stewards of the property in order to continue our mission of serving families in need.

How can the community support Margaret’s House at this time?

Even before KCB owned the property, Margaret's House was known for housing selfless service and dedication to those looking for a safe place to stay. We thank the Lord for Margaret and her heart to use the gifts God gave to bless those around her and we pray for her legacy to continue as we move forward into serving the community around us. Romans 12:4-8 reminds us that the Lord has given each person various gifts and encourages us to use those gifts in partnership with others to benefit our communities. As we make changes to the Margaret's House program and property, we are looking to expand and strengthen the supportive community surrounding Margaret’s House. The opportunities to become involved and utilize your gifts, talents, and resources are expanding daily both for the renovation projects and for the long-term program needs. We will continue to send out updates and more information on Margaret’s House. However, if you would like to learn more or find ways to become involved, please reach out to our team as we would be more than glad to discuss opportunities for your gifts and talents to be used to bless those involved with the Margaret’s House program.

SUPPORT THROUGH PRAYER

We really appreciate the community's prayer for the families coming into Margaret’s House, wisdom for the staff, and God's provisions as we continue to move forward.

For the Families - Please pray that the Lord would continue to make Himself known to families who come to stay at Margaret’s House. Ask God to continue to provide for families such as through peace, increased connections to the community, good health, and opportunities for sustainable employment and housing. We also appreciate prayers for peace and unity between families living at Margaret’s House.
For the Staff - Please pray for wisdom and guidance as our staff continue to faithfully serve families in need. We appreciate prayers for patience, clear communication, and increased levels of opportunity for employment, housing, and other needed resources that can be passed along to families.
For the Program - Please pray for the Lord to send who He has in mind to join our mentorship team soon. Ask God to strengthen our current partnerships while bringing about new partnerships to increase support to families, staff, and the overall program. We appreciate prayers for the physical property, that the Lord would bless those who enter into each home and that He would continue to provide the means needed to keep our doors open as He always has. Finally, we welcome prayers over each financial aspect of the Margaret’s House program.

SUPPORT WITH YOUR SKILLS

If you have been gifted in certain trades, like plumbing or general repairs, please let us know if you might be able to help us with the renovations by contacting our team at admin@kcbellflower.org or calling our office at 562-804-2189.

SUPPORT BY VOLUNTEERING

We are looking for people to help with general projects and yard work around Margaret’s House. If you’re interested in getting involved, please email volunteer@kcbellflower.org.

SUPPORT BY GIVING

We appreciate any material and/or financial gifts to help us fund both the renovation projects and continual Margaret’s House program operations. Click here to give! Please indicate in the comments section of the giving form that you’d like to donate towards Margaret’s House so that we properly allocate your donation.

Thank you for many years of continued support and prayer. We are so encouraged by the faithfulness around us and are excited for what the future holds.