Karay Smith found herself unemployed at the beginning the COVID-19 pandemic. A single mother of four small boys ages 1 to 6 -years-old, they spent nearly a six months homeless, moving from place to place, before she received a voucher for the four of them to live in a motel, staying there for two years.
“We were all stuck in this tiny motel,” she said. “It was rough with the kids being so small, but then we were provided a home. It was wonderful, but we had nowhere to sit, to eat, or to sleep.”
Smith said she was referred to Humble Design by Family Health Centers.
That is when the American Society of Interior Designers, San Diego and Humble Design San Diego teamed up to design and furnish her new home in Chula Vista. In a single day, a team of volunteers brought in everything the family needed and had its “great reveal” for Smith’s family on Sept. 2.
Smith said she expected them to deliver some furniture and things, but thought she would have to put everything together, depending on what they provided for her.
“It was so much more than I expected,” said Smith. “The entire home was decorated and ready to use. They even took a box of framed photos that I had for the family and hung them in the staircase in the townhome. I am so thankful for what they did for us. It is simply overwhelming. Now, I can focus on raising the kids, continue my studying, and work to find a job.”
Smith said she had a Zoom meeting with some of the volunteers before the remodel, they asked her about her favorite colors, questions about the kids, but said she never expected what she saw when they walked into the home.
“It was a wonderful day. They put us on our couch, took pictures of the family, and then took pictures of us with all the volunteers,” she said. “They were all so nice. And I still cannot believe what these people, who I do not know, did for me and my boys.”
The design team was composed of Humble Design staff designers and an ASID guest designer to meet the family, then had three days to use their creativity and expertise to design a home that reflected the family.
Designers had access to Humble Design’s warehouse of donated furnishings, accessories, kitchenware, linens, and more. Serving San Diego since 2018, the design on Sept. 2 was Humble Design’s 226th home design in this region.
Humble Design’s city director Laura Lavoie said its mission is to help clients break the cycle of homelessness by creating beautiful, personalized, dignified homes where families and veterans can “find peace, strength, and hope”
“Statistics show that up to 50 percent of previously unsheltered families return to homelessness within a year of securing housing; by contrast, less than one percent of Humble Design’s clients return to experiencing homelessness. Help from Humble Design enables our clients to change their lives for good,” she said.
Smith said now that they are beginning to settle in, she can continue her classes at Southwestern College. Smith said she is taking business management and entrepreneur courses in hopes of becoming self-employed.
