Dorothy Wong has deep roots in her San Francisco home. Built in 1924, her house has been in the family since 1979. “I moved away for school on the East Coast and later returned to the Bay Area,” she recalls. “When I married and had twins in the 1980s, we came back to this family home.” Over the years, she’s uncovered its history—through something as simple as researching new windows—and that connection made protecting it even more meaningful.
Living Through Earthquakes
Like many Californians, Dorothy has felt the earth move more than once. She remembers the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake vividly. “We didn’t have the engineering back then that we have today,” she says. As the years went by, she worried the house was becoming more vulnerable. With multiple generations living under one roof, protecting her family was often on her mind. “I didn’t want to leave my family at risk, so we moved forward with a retrofit.”
Peace of Mind is the Payoff
Today, Dorothy says her family feels much safer at home. “The anxiety of an earthquake has significantly decreased,” she explains. Retrofitting gave them a sense of security they couldn’t get from expensive earthquake insurance.
Getting there wasn’t always easy. The project lasted nearly a year, complicated by added supports in the garage and some miscommunications that tested her patience Still, Dorothy and her husband agree it was worth the effort. The grant covered $10,000 of the $29,000 total cost, and the finished work left them with lasting peace of mind.
Neighbors often ask about their experience, and Dorothy is quick to encourage them. “We talk to everyone. We think it’s great and we feel everyone should do it if living in California.”
For Dorothy, retrofitting wasn’t just about securing a building—it was about doing everything she could to keep her family safe in the place they’ve called home for decades.