10 Things About Stephanie Kourie &
Father Joe’s Villages
“Spend your life doing something beautiful for God” – Mother Teresa
Father Joe’s Villages serves San Diego’s most vulnerable neighbors through advocacy, compassionate care, and integrated services, including housing, health care, meals, childcare and more. During the COVID-19 crisis, Father Joe’s Villages has continued to provide life-saving care, as well as long-term solutions to help those experiencing homelessness get back on their feet for good.
Stephanie Kourie is a generous supporter of Father Joe’s Villages. For over a decade, Stephanie has been volunteering her time: serving meals to neighbors in need, planning annual events for the children and parents experiencing homelessness, and organizing donation drives for Father Joe’s Villages.
10 Things About Stephanie Kourie & Father Joe’s Villages
#1 I was born in London but lived in Las Palmas in Spain, Balla-Balla & Salisbury in then Rhodesia and Johannesburg in South Africa.
#2 When we fled Zimbabwe at the end of the war to go to South Africa, where my late dad found a job as a Pre-K to 12th grade school principal, we lost everything. All our furniture, our home, even our cars. I learned really quickly how little I needed to be happy – just my family.
#3 I love London, Madrid and Paris. New York too. I am a big city girl!
#4 I have visited Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugorje and countless other pilgrimage sites, including Israel, but I have never been to Garabandal in the north of Spain.
#5 The one quality that everyone should have is kindness.
#6 One thing that most people do not know about me is that I am an anesthesiologist.
#7 The most valuable life lesson I have learned is to choose your life’s partner very carefully guided by prayer because that can really make or break you. I got really blessed with a kind, loving and generous man, my husband – Les.
#8 When I am having a challenging day, I pray and remember that I am not in this alone, I literally have an army of back-up!
#9 I have three doggies, all tiny – Milo, Teddy & Aspen – and a bunny called Hershey.
During the Covid-19 crisis, Father Joe’s Villages has helped over 75 people move into permanent homes of their own. One of those individuals was Scott who first became homeless in 2016. Soon afterwards, Scott came to Father Joe’s Villages for help and was connected to a Housing Navigator and an array of comprehensive services. Even with these resources, as a senior with an immobilizing disability, Scott struggled to find housing that was affordable enough to maintain in the long-term. Despite these challenges, Father Joe’s staff did not give up on Scott who recently moved into an affordable home of his own for the first time in four years.
Father Joe’s Villages
Together we can end homelessness in San Diego
www.neighbor.org
