Leila Boroughs, 84, From California Leaves $400,000 Condo To Homeless In Her Will

Before Leila Boroughs died at the age of 84, the San Francisco, Calif., woman decided to leave her greatest possession to people she had never met.

The former nurse left in her will her $400,000 condo to the homeless, asking for it to be turned into a shelter, NBC Bay Area reports.

Boroughs, who never married and lived alone, said she didn't have close relatives to whom she could leave the estate. She specified that if the 525-square-foot condo wasn't suitable for a shelter, the city could sell it and use the money to fight homelessness, the news source reported.

At this point, the Golden State Good Samaritan is still a bit of a mystery.

“The city doesn’t know a whole lot about her,” said Trent Rhorer, director of San Francisco’s Department of Human Services, told NBC. “She wanted to give her estate to help one of the biggest causes which I guess for her was homeless folks.”

Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors for the City and County of San Francisco decided they would sell her apartment. Jayne Crum, director of the agency's housing and homeless division, estimates the property value is about $400,000, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Boroughs purchased the condo in 1983 -- paying just $100,000 at the time, the San Francisco Examiner reports.

Boroughs isn't the only woman from the woman from California with a desire to help the homeless.

Earlier this month Elinor Sauerwein of Modesto left a staggering $1.7 million to the Salvation Army when she died at age 96. All funds were to be used specifically for combatting homelessness in Modesto.

Sauerwein, who had lived a very modest and frugal life, surprised friends and neighbors with the amount of money she had to give. Even the Salvation Army was stunned.

"Oh I stared at it for awhile," Salvation Army Modesto Capt. Michael Paugh told ABC, "then I took a picture of it with my phone."

Feeling inspired? Check out ways to volunteer or donate through the Salvation Army, here.

Comments

[sallybutt45]

02:13 AM on 02/13/2012

I LOVE this kind of story. I hope her money,(all of it) is used to honor her wishes.

[cuteliberalchick]

02:42 AM on 02/11/2012

good for her

[ttsgw]

02:33 PM on 02/09/2012

What will the neighbours say about having former homeless next door?

[Barb Hatfield]

10:13 PM on 02/11/2012

Probably the same thing homeless people would say about living next door to judgmental jacka$$es who would have something to say about former homeless people next door.

[sallybutt45]

02:14 AM on 02/13/2012

Excellent comeback!

[chatnuptime1]

02:08 AM on 02/13/2012

Who cares? What would you say if your the homeless that the house is going to?

[ttsgw]

07:01 AM on 02/13/2012

I wouldn't mind, homeless or not, but I guess the neighbours still will complain as the values of their flats will decrease. Who wants to live close to those who are a guarantee for their wealth?

[danikabay1]

01:08 PM on 02/09/2012

No matter how you slice it, this is a generous gesture. I wish we could do more for the homeless in this country.Statistics show that one in four homeless people are veterans that served our country. (USA Today, 2011) It is just not right in my opinion.

[BinghamLofts]

06:44 AM on 02/09/2012

i hope the city actually uses the money for what she intended and actually help homeless people, not for new office furniture for the city homeless shelter.

[artboxone]

08:06 PM on 02/08/2012

Thank you, Leila Bouroughs, for your generosity and good heart.

[randinoel]

07:12 PM on 02/08/2012

g

[VoiceOfReality2012]

03:00 PM on 02/08/2012

A homeless shelter in a 525 square feet condo? Thats basically a 25 feet by 20 feet room. My living room is larger than that. What type of shelter could possibly fit there?

[bgofca]

03:21 PM on 02/08/2012

a temporary shelter for a homeless family perhaps, but then you must not have read the article through the end. she left a provision in her will that if the providers of relief felt that the condo was too small for a shelter, that they could sell it and use the funds in how they thought it would best help the homeless.
instead of criticizing this kind woman's actions, perhaps you could do something nice for someone.

[VoiceOfReality2012]

03:46 PM on 02/08/2012

"instead of criticizin­g this kind woman's actions, perhaps you could do something nice for someone"
Ive worked with the homeless since my late teens (volunteer work). Im middle aged now. Where do YOU volunteer?

[kayschelle]

04:21 PM on 02/08/2012

It might not be a big shelter but it's enough for any homeless person. Why are you being picky about it. Is it not good enough for you? Should she have left a bigger shelter? Be thankful that this lady gave!

[VoiceOfReality2012]

06:57 PM on 02/08/2012

But ITS NOT big enough for ANY homeless use. The city could care less when theyre living in the alleys BUT open up a shelter and IT MUST pass all of the code requirements.

[Dan Crabtree]

01:32 PM on 02/08/2012

Billions spent on aids donations with nothing to show for that money..Zero results as aids is still one of the third world nations most deadly diseases..As far as helping the needy the same situation exsist trilions have been spent since the lbj great society program with zero viable results to show for these exspenditures You cannot spend your way out off a hopeless.situation..as it never ends.always a million more waiting in the wings..Teach them a skill..is your only hope..

[VoiceOfReality2012]

02:58 PM on 02/08/2012

The silly thing that most people dont realize is that medical care is a BUSINESS.Theres no money in curing deadly diseases but BILLIONS are made treating the affected. Look at Polio, the cure devastated the medical establishment. Polio clinics went out of business over night. Its a money thing.

[she343]

12:03 PM on 02/11/2012

actually there were results (poverty rate was going down)--until the "gov. is the problem" philosophy started defunding everything --- I lived by Cabrini in the 70s, the building could have been as nice as my digs except they defunded things like basic maintenance and turned it into a sick joke ( Chicago paid a lot for that joke)-- it is easy to knock people back into poverty when they are paying more for less for a couple decades.

[oldstud]

01:17 PM on 02/08/2012

Great. I just hope the lawyers and govenrment officials recognize what she wanted to do and minimize their involvement-thus not draining fees and taxes from the $400K.

[tuhloola]

12:32 PM on 02/08/2012

I plan to do the same....not only because it's a nice thing to do, but because I totally hate my neighbors and they'll absolutely SH** !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dan Crabtree]

01:21 PM on 02/08/2012

ouch!!!!

[acarioti]

09:53 AM on 02/08/2012

I don't know how much (or even if) this will help, but I applaud her efforts. At least her heart was in the right place.

[phbotham]

09:44 AM on 02/08/2012

Meh. That 400K probably wouldn't even pay a year's salary for the city official in charge of the homeless programs. In Bell CA it wouldn't even pay for 6 months.

[Robson]

10:38 AM on 02/08/2012

It was a very nice generous gesture and she asked nothing in return, unlike the billionaire philanthropists who demand that something be named after them.

It might have been more effectively used had she given it directly to the United Way, or some audited charity, rather than to city government to pay political big wigs and their generous pensions.

[Dan Crabtree]

01:06 PM on 02/08/2012

They give millions and joe biden gave three hundred and fourty three dollars last year to his charity.

[bgofca]

03:26 PM on 02/08/2012

i'd trust my local govt to handle homeless people more than the united way which has had multiple scandals over their distribution of funds and their high paid executives.

[rennycat]

09:39 AM on 02/08/2012

I think this is a very noble thing this lady did. It certainly will go to good use (I hope) for poor people rather than going to some greedy relatives that would just waste the money. All my assets I willed to PETA to help them continue their fight against animal abuse and to promote being a vegetarian, and stop the inhumane slaughter of animals. People should really look to give their money to noble causes to help this world instead of leaving money to ungrateful kids and relatives.....just saying....

[Robson]

10:46 AM on 02/08/2012

Many people have deprived themselves for a lifetime and as a result accumulate substantial wealth, only to pass it on to those who treat it as easy come easy go. I've seen it happen numerous times. They'd be better off passing some on to charity as they live. And give to friends and family that have been strong supporters in life. I'm not a believer that simply being a relative is an entitlement. I do agree that there are often better ways to use one's lifetime of wealth than having it squandered by others.

[Daliah Davis]

09:36 AM on 02/08/2012

It's nice to see that people still care about the well being of others...Great story!