About Home and Heart
History
Home & Heart began in early 2018, as an internship project of two Masters of Social Work students, aided by professor Sue Steiner, from California State University, Chico. At the time the City of Chico had less than 2% vacancy rate, and older adults were especially vulnerable to the lack of affordable housing options. Many were already facing homelessness or barriers to aging in place including inflated costs of living, lack of affordable caregiving options, and limited fixed incomes. To address these issues, Home & Heart was designed as an intergenerational shared housing program that matched older adults who had an extra bedroom and needed help aging in place, with mature college students seeking affordable housing. Then in November 2018 the Camp Fire tore through Butte County destroying most of Paradise and large portions of the surrounding communities as well. Roughly 50,000 people were displaced in a matter of hours and our community did not have the housing resources to meet the need. Older adults were disproportionately affected in this loss. While we still believe in an intergenerational model of home sharing, the home seeking population with the greatest need has been older adults, many of whom are Camp Fire survivors. Flexing to the needs of the community, Home & Heart is open to all adult home seekers and providers throughout Butte County.
Mission
Vision
Meet The Team
Tasha Forks
Natasha Marx
Cathryn Carkhuff
Homesharing Program Coordinator
Homesharing Case Manager
Executive Director
Tasha (she/her) is pursuing her MSW and has worked in various local non-profits. Her 10 years of case management experience spans working with youth, adults, and their families around substance use, disasters, veterans, housing, and crisis. She enjoys 90’s TV reruns, traveling, and being a foodie.
Natasha she/her is currently an MSW student at Chico State. She has experience working with older adults and helping the community through case management in Sacramento. She is passionate about making housing more affordable and accessible for all and helps Home & Heart with intakes, case management and outreach.
Cathryn (she/her) has a BSW and an M.A.Ed. She has over 15 years of experience working with youth and adults in community based organizations doing social services, art and education in Philly, the Bay Area and now Chico. She enjoys hikes in pretty places with her family, friends and her dogs.
Board of Directors
Sue Steiner
Ph.D., MSW, Board Chair
Sue has more than 30 years’ of community social work experience, including a focus on housing. She has taught community organizing, social welfare policy, program development and program evaluation at Arizona State University and California State University, Chico for almost 30 years. Sue co-founded Home & Heart with MSW students in her classes and has served as the Board Chair since then.
Cindi Robinson
MSW, LCSW, Board Treasurer
Molly Calhoun
Ph.D., MSW, Board Secretary
Molly is currently an assistant professor in the Social Work Department at Chico State focusing on impacts of race, power and privilege on housing issues, and how neoliberalism impacts social work practice. Prior to pursing her PhD, she spent over 15 years in community-based practice in both San Francisco, CA and Denver, CO. She loves the innovative model of homesharing and the people.
Katie Palmer
BSW Board Member
Originally from the foothills outside of Yosemite, Katie moved to Butte County in 2015. Katie has a BSW from CSU Chico and currently works at the Peg Taylor Center. Katie has served on the board since January of 2023. She is passionate about helping older adults thrive, and a big believer in Home and Hearts mission. When not working at the Peg Taylor Center, she can be found hiking Upper Park with 10-year-old lab, Layla or buying produce from the local Farmer’s Market.
Toni Russo
SHANNON SIMMONS
Shannon has worked for over ten years as a mental health clinician, providing counseling and mental health education to older adults and individuals with intellectual disabilities/mental health challenges. She is passionate about creative solutions addressing homelessness and insecure housing. In her spare time, Shannon enjoys spending time with family, her pets, and participating in the sport of roller derby.
