Every Friday evening, Joaquin, 28, finishes his shift at Disneyland with a sense of pride. As an outdoor snack vendor, he spends the day bringing joy to guests and making the magic real. Then he heads home – just two miles away – to the people who matter most.
He steps through the door of his new, clean two-bedroom apartment to greet his daughter, Isabella, his son, Isaiah, and his wife, Cassandra, 27. The noise of the day fades.
“The best feeling in the world is on Friday, after a great week at work, I know I’m going to see my family at my home,” Joaquin said.
It wasn’t always this way.
Joaquin and Cassandra’s path to that front door was a challenging one that took them from a cramped and dirty shared apartment to a string of motels and, finally, nights spent sleeping in their car – all while trying to stay afloat for their children.
Like thousands of families in Orange County, they found themselves squeezed by one of the most expensive housing markets in the nation. In a region where median rents often require an annual income of $90,000 or more, even families with two incomes face steep odds finding a place they can afford. The housing crisis has made it incredibly difficult for working families to secure a decent, stable home.
Joaquin and Cassandra started out with high hopes. The high school sweethearts found stable customer service jobs right after graduation as they welcomed Isabella to their burgeoning family.
Life was steady until 2019, when Cassandra’s brother passed away on his 25th birthday – a loss that strained her relationship with her mother and ended the housing support they had relied on. In early 2020, Joaquin broke his leg just as the pandemic hit. He couldn’t work for more than a year.
The young family reluctantly moved into a two-bedroom apartment in Costa Mesa with 12 of Joaquin’s relatives. It was overcrowded, roach-infested and unsafe.
“The management would never fix anything, they would just paint over leaks in the bathroom walls,” Joaquin said.
Still, they tried to move forward. In 2021, Joaquin was hired full time at Disneyland. It felt like a turning point. He loved the energy of the park and the chance to put smiles on the faces of tourists from around the world. In 2023, the couple celebrated the birth of their son, Isaiah.
But then came a break-in at the apartment. Isabella’s grades also began to fall. The pressure of raising two kids in such difficult conditions became too much. They left, hoping to make it in motels. When the money ran out, they slept in their car. At night, Cassandra’s mother would take the kids – a decision that brought both relief and heartbreak.
“After each workday, I used to just stand there being angry, thinking ‘what am I going to do’ before I would go back to the motel or before I go meet Cassandra to spend the night in our car,” Joaquin said.
Everything changed in early 2025.
Cassandra’s nonstop search for housing led them to Miraflores – National CORE’s new affordable housing community for working families in Anaheim. Designed to fill the gap for families earning modest wages, Miraflores offers safe, stable homes where rent is no more than 60 percent of income – so residents can begin to thrive, not just survive.
Joaquin and Cassandra moved into a brand-new, two-bedroom apartment with space to breathe and a place their children could finally call home.
Cassandra found a night shift job at Raising Cane’s and has already been promoted. Joaquin, now free to focus fully on his work, began earning awards at Disneyland for outstanding customer service – recognized by colleagues and guests alike for bringing happiness to the park.
Their children are prospering. Isabella, now 9, is excelling in school. Isaiah, now 2, is preparing to start daycare. Joaquin hopes to grow into a technician role at Disneyland. Cassandra plans to return to school to become a probation officer.
“I sometimes just wake up and look at our living room and open our fridge and see that it has food and realize that I don’t have to live in a car and I cry because I’m so happy,” Cassandra said. “National CORE saved our lives. We are so blessed.”
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