Some five years ago, Elizabeth Wilson had just overcome her drug addiction and regained custody of her teenage daughter. But she was homeless—for the second time.

Wilson had three basic goals: get a job, stay clean and sober, and find a place to stay. 

Luckily, the Family Emergency Shelter Coalition (FESCO), an organization that had helped her family before, was there to help again.

FESCO is a nonprofit organization located in Hayward that aims to end homelessness in Alameda County. The organization's mission is to help families become self-sufficient by providing them with shelter, mental health counseling, money management classes, and many more support services that help move families out of homelessness.

FESCO recently placed among the top publicly-rated nonprofits in its field for the second year in a row.

FESCO is one of 76 nonprofit organizations in the food and shelter category to receive a top rating in 2010 from GreatNonprofits.org, a group which likens itself to a Zagat guide to nonprofit organizations.

GreatNonprofits.org publishes ratings and reviews from volunteers and clients of more than 1.2 million nonprofit organizations nationwide.

FESCO was the only homeless shelter in the East Bay to get a top ranking. 

“This award is very gratifying because it’s based on the experiences of the formerly homeless families we have served as well as the volunteers whose efforts make our work possible,” said FESCO executive director Cate Steane in a press release.

“GreatNonprofits.org and this award help raise awareness about our work, which is important now more than ever as government funding for safety net services dries up making it critical that we add monthly donors.”

Several San Leandro churches support FESCO, including Epiphany Lutheran Church, which is an active member of FESCO's coalition, and First Presbyterian Church of San Leandro. The city has also provided funding for the organization in the past under its Community Development Block Grant program.

For Wilson, FESCO was "a miracle." She and her daughter lived in FESCO’s transitional housing for about five months in 1999. During that time, she was able to save up enough money to move out.

FESCO serves all types of families –two-parent families, single parents and, especially, children. Two-thirds of FESCO's residents are children, and nearly half of these are 5-years-old or younger, according to the organization.

FESCO's services don't end when a family moves out of its transitional housing program.

“The wonderful thing about FESCO is they offer lifetime counseling for their clients,” said Wilson. “My daughter has been going to counseling there for four years now.”

After moving out of transitional housing, Wilson got a job as a drug and alcohol counselor and opened a clean and sober house for women in San Leandro.

Wilson has since moved the program, called Tranquility House, to a bigger house in South Hayward, though she still lives in San Leandro. 

She credits FESCO with teaching her how to treat her clients with dignity. Part of this, she says, is helping her tenants save money by charging them low rent. 

"People who are homeless and struggling, looking for a second chance—you don’t take all their money." 

Wilson's children have also gained a lot from FESCO. Her daughter, Naomi Muzac, is in her third year in college. She has interned with FESCO, and she spoke at a fundraiser for the organization two years ago.

Wilson still has a hard time believing how far she's come from her days on the street.

“Looking back on all that stuff, my life has changed so much,” she said. “It’s been an amazing journey.”