Ranch & Coast Magazine

Bella's House of Hope Since 2016, inspired by her own story, Nadia Gastelum, CEO and founder of Bella's House of Hope, has been providing much needed support to single parents with children who have long-term intellectual, developmental, and medical disabilities. Prior to opening the doors of BHOH, Nadia recalls her own unrelenting hardships as a single mother raising her daughter, Bella, who was diagnosed with a developmental and medical disability at birth. One in every nine school-aged children in the U.S. is categorized as a child with special needs. Nadia emphasizes, "Let's be honest, parenting is hard under the best of circumstances. If you're single and raising a child who has special needs — whether they be medical, cognitive, neurological, behavior, sensory, or physical — the normal pressure of parenting is compounded when a single parent repeatedly struggles to meet the onslaught of needs of their child with a disability." Nadia often found the process of navigating social services and community programs intended to meet basic needs of children with disabilities to be challenging, impersonal, and not without painstakingly long waiting periods. Nadia was determined to open her own nonprofit organization and become an instrument of change. In 2016, Bella's House of Hope was formed and would become a beacon of hope for single parents of children with long-term disabilities. Today, BHOH provides an array of support services to children with special needs and is also a safe haven for the single parents who are often their child's Bella's House of Hope volunteers at BHOH's third annual golf tournament Family supported by Bella's House of Hope @ranchandcoast ranchandcoast.com 8 DECEMBER 2020 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE G I V I N G G U I D E BHOH VOLUNTEERS & FAMILY: PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEATA PEVNY Nadia Gastelum delivering food to Luz's family at the beginning of the pandemic @ranchandcoast ranchandcoast.com 8 DECEMBER 2020 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE

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