i was evicted and living in multiple motels with my blind disabled brother for off and on two years. it took quite a bit of money to stay in motels. Luckily i was getting paid from IHSS to take care of my brother and he received SSI. we struggled with paying roughly $3000 per month and technically we never were "under the stars" homeless. The illumination foundation promised to pay for our move in. Finding a place to accept us was very difficult due to previous evictions and criminal record not to mention a poor credit score. The illumination foundation sent us to apply for multiple apartments to no avail. i provided every document requested and we still were not approved- We received the encouragement to keep trying but i assure you, it was difficult. i found a back house recently by posting an ad looking for work as a caregiver. the person who hired me to work rented me a beautiful back house and didnt scrutinize my life and past. the illumination foundation is paying for the deposit ( $3000) my paycheck doubled when i got the second job. it is very satisfying when you can pat yourself on the back for finding a nice place to live. thank you for paying my deposit and for not making me so reliant upon you read more

I would like to say thank you to the Illumination foundation my caseworker Miss Kacy Kim and Zachery are tremendously helpful whatever my problem is took the time to navigate and resolve all issues. I really appreciate this company for helping me with my move-in deposit. In a quick fast orderly matter me and my family was facing homelessness and they helped us to have a roof food and counseling through our problems. Thank you again Illumination foundation for being the ones that prioritize our family. read more

They deserve this review. They sound like they're doing good, but as a landlord they don't really support their tenants and they leave all the trouble to us. NO response to emails, phone calls or case management. Unpaid rent for months, and when they do pay its often times the wrong amount and it takes 2-3 months to fix it. They gave us horrible tenants that destroyed the place. 4 of our other tenants have moved away and those 4 units have cost us close to $20k in loss of rent or turnover costs because their tenants scared away our tenants. There is some type of big money involved in these placement agencies and they only care about themselves. I bet little to none of their executive teams are landlords and don't know what it's like having these tenants in their properties. read more

I have been at this program for a year due to a car accident Feb 2023. I have done everything that is required to do for housing and still nothing. I am no closer to getting a permanent home then I was when I got there. I am also disabled and need additional surgery so that I can walk again. I also have a son that should be starting college and he doesn't want to start school when he has no place to sleep no place to shower. He is going to end up losing the school funding. The only people that I see that are getting housed are the people that have been homeless for over ten yrs. Some of these people should not live alone or even be in this recup program. These people need assistance. There were six deaths in the first six months of me being in the program. Several people they helped get housing died because they should have been in assisted living. I have left the fullerton location and there have been more deaths. Indigo died there because he was very I'll and should have been in hospice care or a nursing facility. They kick more people out then they help. For reasons that make no since. It just depends on who the client is our who is working. The rules they have are not across the board and apply to everyone the e same. They are not stopping the cycle of homelessness. They are c continuing it. It's more about the money not giving the people the care they need is keeping the needs full. They say they do all these things for the client. I have gotten no help from this program and now I'm in my car. They give you an exit date and no resources or placement when that arrives. Where is all the money going they rec. From federal funding and donations? They won't help with deposits should you find your own housing. Isn't this the goal. Permanent housing and stability. Don't believe everything you read on the internet because it's not true. Research research research otherwise your going ro be disappointed. read more

My name is Kevin McCarthy and have been at the Whittier location for over a month. My hope is to get permeant housing soon I have been homeless for over 20 years! My stay here has been a blessing it's not perfect but what is ! The medical staff the food preparers the house keeping staff the counselors and security do an outstanding job under some very difficult circumstances . Just stop and observe and you will have an appreciation for what they do , as pleasantly as possible! All I can say is thank for all you do very very much! God bless you all! Exstreamly grateful ! Kevin p McCarthy read more

I was given the phone number for an employee on January 4th of this year from a social worker. She and I met at the house on Tuesday the 5th of January and I said I wanted to rent room #7 in a 55 & older homeless shelter in Anaheim. She told me she would get my paperwork ready so I could move in at 1 pm on Sunday the 9th. Apparently they don't work on Sunday's according to her Supervisor Lois, who she did not let her supervisor Lois know before she took a leave of absence on Thursday the 6th of January. I left numerous voice messages with Danielle another person at that location and I NEVER RECEIVED A CALL BACK FROM ANYONE. So I went to the corporate office off Batavia on the 12th of January and relayed what she had promised for me on the 9th of January. She also told me I could get my mail there so I put in for my mail to be transferred to this address. When I stopped by on Tuesday the 18th at the house I had mail from USPS giving my welcome notifications of possible companies to get service from in my area. The Case Manager for this location knew nothing about me moving into room #7, so she called Sonia and she informed me that Sonia would meet me at the house at 2 pm. I met with Sonia, the supervisor and they had rented out my room to someone else because NO ONE STARTED PAPERWORK FOR MY RENTING THAT #7 Room Since The 5th of January. I'm a 66 year old woman who has had both knees as well as both hips replaced. I was in 2014 having my left hip replaced in June then in a car accident on the 91 freeway which totaled my vehicle in October. Then in December I had my right hip replaced all in ONE YEAR. Sonia, informed me of 2 other options All Of Which Were Not Handicap Accessible!!! So Now I've Been Homeless For 10 Weeks Without Any New Leads Of Renting A Room For $500 which is my budget for being on Social Security. I'm spending $500 a week to live in Motels & 1 Hotel which I will have lived for a maximum allotted time of 28 days. I can't receive hotel vouchers because I'm not living in my car which I tried one night without success for 2 hours because I couldn't get out of the bed in a Motel 6 in Anaheim. I spent most of the morning at Denny's 24 Hour Location Off Harbor Across from Disneyland. The Next Two Weeks I will be staying in my 9th Motel. As Soon As I Received My First Social Security check I'm Evicted Illegally out of the home where I was the care giver for a 91 year old dementia friend who I had the privilege of working with at Anaheim Released Time Christian Education for 10 years. I HAVE TO BELIEVE GOD HAS SOMETHING BETTER FOR ME! Also I Was An Office Manager For 30 Years And My Companies Would Never Have Been Run The Way Their Non-Profit Is Run. read more

I definitely do not recommend this program one of my family members been dealing with them or should I say enrolled in their program for about a year and in that year they did nothing for them the coordinator they sent to see them seemed she had more issues then them her name is Celina their is a couple of Celinas working there im referring to the over weight one she wants her job to go as easiest as possible theirs alot of people that need help not to deal with people that need help themselves. Their is tons of programs out there I suggest looking for a different one that suits ur needs if u want positive results. Good luck read more

I wanted to give 1/2 a star but I couldn't get it to let me do that. I've been dealing with Illumination Foundation since around March of this year. I was initially approved apparently through my insurance. When I contacted them telling them I was approved & had an approval # they couldn't find anything. After about a week & many calls & messages from me, I finally got a hold of someone who also took about a week of us talking on the phone etc for him to say, Oh I couldn't get that assistance because that's only for people who need a place to live, but they can't help someone keep their apartment. During one of our conversations he mentioned $5,000 help. Also, he mentioned that they could help me with my utilities. I said ok if I still have an apartment I'll let you know so you can pay my utilities. Then after some time went by I got ahold of him again & said well now I'm in that situation you mentioned before because I was evicted from my apartment. Oh well now I need to be directed to another department of their organization. I said what about the $5,000 deal that was for a deposit & help for furniture? Oh that's only for those who have a housing voucher (I didn't have one because no one told me about them and...) He said you'll have to get on a waiting list for that & some have been on that list for 1-2 years! Most recently they wanted to switch me to another department (of which they never contacted me) I got a text that they wanted to help me find a place to live as soon as they could. I replied a text saying that it wouldn't matter if they found me a place today, I still owe on my city utilities, to the last apartment I lived at & had an outstanding bill to Spectrum. They won't be able to get me an apartment in the city I want to return to. These other bills/outstanding statements need to be paid first before that can happen! Of Course I haven't heard back since that last text. So I have everything in collections, I've lost a lot of belongs/family items to auction in a storage unit & I'm currently been waiting for a disability claim since November of last year!!! It's 85% done apparently. This organization is a load of crap! read more

This place isn't a good place they look down on mentally ill people they do not use donations properly they threw me and my wife out cause she had a mental illness with 30 days to find a spot live we have a 3 year old child and now homeless again. All apartments are roach infested or have mice. If you are a donator please do not donate to this program if they do not use their donations properly this place deserves -4 Stars read more

MONTHSSS of endless questions & no help at all. The one nice employee they had left and the three others after him have all been a holes. Waste of time. I don't even see who they help if they can't help a single mom with a disabled son. read more

I was picked up on Wednesday and taken to one of their local Vulnerable Population Temporary Shelter Hotels to be safe from the COVID19 pandemic. I am so grateful for the organization and the welcoming and great Hospitality of the onsite staff. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! read more

I have a friend that was homeless and looked hopefully toward the Illumination Foundation for help. I L never answered any of her phone calls so finally i drove her to their office. There were 3 staff members there and none of them were doing anything including not answering their phone. i had to ask them to get off their ass and help her find a place to live. After months of empty promises they put her up in the Lexington Courtyard in BP on lincoln. Since then I L are constantly harassing her for no reason at all. Everytime i go to see how she is there is always a large police presence. A few days ago i talked to one of the cops and told him i knew someone that was going to be put up there. The cops told me that she should try to find another place as Lex Crtyrd was unsafe. Lots of drug sales, convicted felons, and the units were INFESTED with roaches. I used to be a landlord and if any of my units were even half as bad i would have been shut down. It seems that i periodoctly I see them in the VIP pages of`Orange coast magazine throwing large parties to congratulate themselves for what great work they do,NOT. It seems this review is one of many dissatisfied reviews on Yelp,none of which I L responded to! read more

i was living in a motel and working form April to November of 2021 and my kids and i were refered by my kids school through the mckinny vento program as well as my sister yet it took them months to do any paper work and they placed kids and i and a shelter were we were uncomfortable and the moment we tried getting motel vouchers and stuff they decided that they were gonna start telling me that kids and i have to have permission for over nights and then decided that they were gonna drop my kids and i from the program cause im not working or living in Anaheim yet my case worker made a promise to do anything and everything to help my kids and i yet broke that promise by dropping us knowing kids want to stay at their school and so do my ex and i. these case workers make promises but don't keep them. read more

As a manager. Don't do it. Don't call them. Don't work with their "clients". Just don't do it. Stay away from them. They are most unprofessional program that I have ever worked with. To the clients that are looking to get help from them... I warn you now, they will place you somewhere and then just completely forget you ever existed. Just don't!!! Stay away from them. Stay as far away as you can. There are others out there that will help you. read more

Stayed with them for 8.5 months trying to be housed. Moved into one of their Micro Units (you have roommates) yesterday and I am sickened that I wasted all this time to be housed in a home that has an extreme pungent odor of pet urine throughout the house. My eyes are watering and my chest hurts. My housing coordinator was with me and we both addressed the elephant in the room.... The SMELL. The lady representing Illumination Foundation didn't really say much and changed the subject. Trying today to get someone to do something about this! Well see and I'll let you guys know!! read more

Helping a friend find help and when calling this organization there is a very rude unprofessional person on the phone what a shame

Worse place to ever work! Understaffed, no supplies, management throws everyone under the bus. If I could give no stars I would! Management is unprofessional and does nothing while everyone else is running around doing a million things. A manager is suppose to lead and give direction but here you have to figure it out by yourself. I don't blame the people being taken in feel like they being treated unfair. Some people can leave to go do some things while others aren't allowed too. The staff is great and helped me feel comfortable but management sucks. They need to hire people who know how to be managers/leaders not bossy children. read more