New start  FAMILY YEARNS FOR OWN HOME

Sisters Karla, 12, and Jennifer, 14, embrace their newborn brother, Alejandro, at the Clara-Mateo Alliance in Menlo Park.

Wish Book Home

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like other girls their ages, Jennifer, 14, and Carla, 12, treasure their privacy. They also adore dogs, cats, talking on the phone and listening to pop music. But living in a homeless shelter means making due without the many of the things they love, at least for now.

Donations from Wish Book readers could make life a little less stressful for the girls and their struggling family.

It's been five months since their mother, Emma, left their abusive father to take the girls to safety. She had to use up the last of their savings to fight for custody of her daughters, so the three moved to a shelter in San Francisco, then came to one of the facilities operated by InnVision/Clara-Mateo Alliance.

A nurse by training in her native Mexico, Emma worked as a nanny and housekeeper until recently when she had to flee. And while they are grateful for a safe place to live, it is hard to feel at home in a 63-bed dormitory that accommodates many families in similar straits. To add to the stress, Emma was pregnant when she left her husband, and the new baby, Alejandro, has just arrived.

"The hardest thing is all the rules,'' says Jennifer, a ninth grader who aspires to be a veterinarian when she grows up, but had to give away her own dog, cat, fish and turtle because she couldn't have them in the shelter. "And it's hard to study with so many people around, so I'm having a hard time in school.''

Clara-Mateo Alliance is dedicated to helping homeless families such as Emma's get back on their feet. Nestled at the very back of the Menlo Park Veteran's Hospital since 1997, CMA serves San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties by providing emergency shelter for up to 90 days. Residents get help searching for work and attend classes in money management, among other things.

Emma and her daughters have been exemplary residents who are likely to go on and make a good life for themselves, according to the CMA staff, who add that Carla likes to help out in the office after school. When their 90 days at the shelter are up this month, they will move to transitional housing, where they can stay another three months. Then, they hope, they'll move into a subsidized apartment of their own.

For now, a computer ($500) would help the girls get their school work done, and tutorial software ($50 each title) would help Jennifer with her math and English. A small portable stereo ($65) would add a little cheer. At 12, sister Carla is struggling with her weight and shyly says she would like to have a place to exercise and some help with diet and nutrition (program fees at the YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula are about $30 per class). Both girls would love to pick out some new clothes ($25 each gift card).

For their mother, gift cards ($25 each) would help with a few things such as clothes or blankets for the baby boy who is due in November, while a bus pass ($52.50 per month) would help her get her Alejandro to appointments with the pediatrician.