Inspiring Conversations with Felicia Edelman of SOS Housing

Today we’d like to introduce you to Felicia Edelman.

Felicia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started my career as a lawyer fighting for people who were about to lose their homes. I worked at Orange County Legal Aid Foundation, volunteered doing eviction defense in Inglewood, worked at Bet Tzedek, and later built my own real estate practice. For about 25 years I practiced landlord-tenant and real estate law in California. Over and over I saw the same thing. People didn’t need another court date. They needed a safe, affordable place to live.

In 2010 my husband, David Wohlman, who everyone calls Uncle Dave, and I started Uncle Dave’s Housing. We opened our first house in Willowbrook for people rebuilding their lives after homelessness, treatment, incarceration or an unstable situation. Dave had the heart for it. I was the lawyer and the business person. I served as Executive Director while still practicing law, and I learned the business from the inside. House rules, resident agreements, referral partners, caseworkers, compliance, filling beds and keeping the doors open. Today Uncle Dave’s Housing houses over 1,000 people a year across 4 locations with 100 beds.

Over 15 years I opened more than 20 group homes and helped house about 30,000 people. I made plenty of mistakes along the way, and I wrote about them, and about second chances, in my memoir, *From Riches to Rags—and Richer in Purpose*.

Now I share everything I learned through SOS Housing, which stands for Sharing Our Secrets. I coach and consult people who want to start, run and grow group homes and shared housing that are profitable and impactful. I built a full library of the documents I used in my own homes so nobody has to start from scratch. I also coach other coaches, co-host the Co-Living Code podcast, and I’m building The Shared Housing CEO Academy for operators who are ready to scale.

No gatekeeping. Just real answers from 15 years in the trenches. Housing is a human right, and I want to help more people provide it.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not a smooth road at all. Some of my hardest lessons came from not doing my homework.

Early on we opened a co-ed sober living in Pasadena without checking the zoning. The fire department showed up, then code enforcement, zoning and the health department. The city had an old, outdated law that said no more than six unrelated people could live under one roof, even in a 10-bedroom house. The city attorney was on a mission to get rid of sober livings, and Dave and I ended up facing charges. Even though I’m an attorney, I hired an attorney, because fighting a city is emotional. We protested at the courthouse. We went to the media. After two years we had a choice. Take it to federal court to prove the law unconstitutional, or settle and move on. We didn’t have the time or the money, so we settled and got out of Pasadena. Moral of the story: check the zoning before you sign anything.

Growing the nonprofit had its own problems. Then in 2023 Dave fell and fractured his hip. He spent two weeks in the hospital and came home to a hospital bed with round-the-clock caregivers while I kept the business running. It was one of the darkest periods of our life, and it taught me that hard times are temporary.

Sometimes my biggest obstacle has been me. I’m direct and blunt, and I had to learn to lead our house managers and residents with more patience. People can change and deserve a 2nd chance in life just as Uncle Dave and myself got.
Every struggle became a lesson, and now I share those lessons so other people don’t have to learn them the hard way.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
SOS Housing stands for Sharing Our Secrets. I coach and consult people who want to start, run and grow group homes, sober livings, transitional housing and co-living homes that are profitable and impactful.

Most people come to me with a house and a big heart and no idea where to start. Where will you find residents? How do you get referrals from caseworkers? What goes in a resident agreement? What happens when the city shows up? I’ve lived every one of those questions, and I give people real answers.

What sets me apart is that I’m both an attorney and an operator. I practiced landlord-tenant and real estate law in California for about 25 years, and I spent 15 years running group homes as an Executive Director. I’ve opened more than 20 homes and helped house about 30,000 people. When I teach compliance, zoning, leases or house rules, it comes from the courtroom and from the trenches.

Here’s what we offer:

– One-on-one coaching, including a Premier package I co-coach with my husband, Uncle Dave, who has 15 years running group homes and transitional housing
– The Entire Library of Documents, the same agreements, policies and forms I used in my own homes, so you don’t start from scratch
– Digital guides like the Ultimate Marketing Guide for Group Homes, 101 Ways to Advertise, Fund, and Network Your Group Home, How to Start a Nonprofit Group Home, and a Profit Calculator
– Nonprofit, grant and capacity consulting
– Coaching for other coaches. I’m the coaches’ coach! Other group-home coaches book me to work with their clients directly.
– The Shared Housing CEO Academy, an application-only program for operators ready to scale

You can also find me co-hosting the Co-Living Code podcast and on YouTube at @SharedHousingExpert.

What I’m most proud of is that the knowledge didn’t stay locked in my head. No gatekeeping. Just real answers from 15 years in the trenches. Every home my clients open means more people with a safe, affordable place to live. Housing is a human right!

Learn more at SOShousi

What matters most to you?
Affordable Housing. Housing is not a privilege but a basic human right. You can’t do anything without housing. You need an address to get a job or government benefits. Everyone has the right to live in a safe, affordable place. One is entitled to be able to close their eyes and night and get a good night’s sleep. By coaching others on how to open group homes, I am essentially making more affordable housing across the nation. We have a housing crisis in our country. Every city lacks housing. Everyone needs housing, not just a place to stay but quality housing that is habitable and affordable.

Pricing:

• Premier Coaching Package $9997
• Essential Coaching Package $4997
• Library of Documents $1997
• Markeing Your House $997

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.soshousing.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharedhousingexpert
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/102156728730572
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SharedHousingExpert
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/Soshousing