The Foundation Of Freedom To Live

30 years ago Mary Williams founded a company called New Start Homes. In 1982 while working as the RN Coordinator of a rehabilitation unit in Los Angeles Mary saw that there was a huge gap in the rehabilitation process of both the patients and families she was discharging from the hospital. Mary’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion in her work, drove her to quit her job and begin a company that could fill the needs and gaps in the system. Mary was successful, with her incredible determination and energy level and her spirit inside to persevere, Mary pioneered a unique independence program and became one of the biggest advocates for spinal cord injured individuals. Not only did Mary work side by side with Medi-Cal where she established a trusted relationship over 28 years, she helped write legislation in Sacramento, which broke down governmental and societal barriers; ensuring that every individual following a catastrophic injury or illness had the opportunity to take control of their own life, to live in the least restrictive environment and with an improved quality of life.

Mary established Freedom To Live Foundation in 1993 because there was another great need, affordable housing. Very small allowances for living made it almost impossible for her clients to find a place to live without help. Mary purchased homes she called “step down” homes and subsidized rents for her New Start clients moving out. However, with 24/7 work, 3 companies, 200 employees launching and building her foundation was not possible so she continued her focus on building her model program and used whatever resources she had available to help her FTL mission along.

After 28 years in business Mary sold New Start Homes to Care Meridian in October 2010. At 68 years old and after taking a long earned rest Mary and her daughter Sian set out to finally close the gap of affordable and accessible living for people like her New Start clients. Today, FTL is moving its first recipient into his own home near family in Oceanside California and FTL uses the 30 years of experience to oversee, coordinate and consult recipients to ensure long-term success of each recipient.