Brett Kelman

The Desert Sun

Evelyn Heller, 100, will get $1000 a month for two years from millionaire Tony Robbins.

Social workers have also helped Heller find a new home in La Quinta.

A 100-year-old Palm Desert resident who was booted from her home two weeks ago is no longer facing a life on the streets thanks to help from social workers and a donation from a famous philanthropist.

Evelyn Heller has been offered $1,000 per month to help her pay her rent for the next two years – a total of $24,000 – by Tony Robbins, the mutli-millionaire motivational speaker with a long history of charitable giving. The donation was a reaction to a Desert Sun story published earlier this month.

“That’s the commitment I made,” Robbins told the newspaper, confirming the details of his donation. “I wanted her to not have to worry forever. At this stage in her life, it’s a joy for me to give her that sense of stability and security.”

Adult Protective Services has also helped Heller find a new apartment in La Quinta. The resolution could not have come at a better time because, based on court documents, police were due to force Heller out of her old apartment any day now.

“I’m grateful. What more can I say?” Heller said. “Strangers have been wonderful to me. That’s the story.”

100-year-old woman booted from her Palm Desert home

Heller, who was born in 1915, faced eviction after losing a brief and strange trial at the Palm Springs Courthouse on April 1. The frail-but-feisty woman, who could barely see or hear, pleaded with a judge for more time to find a new home, but was ultimately denied.

Heller’s landlord, Deep Canyon Desert LLC, insisted that the old woman should be evicted because she had loud, disruptive arguments with one of her daughters. Riverside County Judge Charles Haines agreed, ordering Heller to pay $616 in prorated rent, $500 in attorney’s fees and $420 in court costs.

Heller left the courthouse in disbelief, insisting she was unable to pay the bill.

“What? What kind of ridiculous thing is that?” she said outside the courtroom. “But I don’t have any money.”

Robbins was alerted to Heller’s plight by front-page story in The Desert Sun the following day. Robbins owns a home in Palm Springs and was in the city at the time for the American Documentary Film Festival, which included a movie about his motivation seminars.

“I knew I wanted to help her,” Robbins said, describing the moment he saw Heller in the newspaper. “Something always can be done, it’s just a matter of people caring enough to do it.”

Robbins wasn’t alone in his desire to help.

In the days after Heller’s story published, dozens of readers called and emailed The Desert Sun from across the country hoping to help the woman however they could. Many offered small donations, or to help her move her things when she found a new place to live. A local nursing home said they would allow her to skip their waiting list. A man from Georgia said he would let Heller live in his spare bedroom for free. Calls came from the office of Congressman Raul Ruiz, who introduced Heller to Adult Protective Services, a county-run program that assists the elderly.

Robbins also contacted The Desert Sun, where a reporter connected him with Heller and Ruiz’s staff. Robbins then spoke to Heller on the phone several times, and eventually offered to pay her rent for two years.

"Thank you with all my heart," Heller said Monday, when asked if she had any message for her supporters.

If the story of Robbin’s donation sounds familiar, it’s because he has done this kind of thing before.

Back in February, Robbins read a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about a group of nuns who were being evicted from a soup kitchen that feeds the homeless on one of the sketchiest blocks in the Tenderloin. Robbins wrote the nuns a check for $25,000 and promised to give another $25,000 next year.

But these donations pale in comparison to Robbin’s larger charity projects, which have fed millions. In 1991, he launched the Anthony Robbins Foundation, which delivers baskets of food to low-income families each year. More recently, Robbins has partnered with Feeding America, agreeing to match donations from the public.

“If anyone is inspired by this story, you can make a donation to Feeding America’s 100 Million Meals Challenge, and I’ll match it. You can donate $5 or $100,000,” Robbins said. “It doesn’t matter. I will match it.”

Reporter Brett Kelman can be reached at 760 778 4642 or at brett.kelman@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @TDSbrettkelman.