23 Years Ago, I Emerged From Homelessness

       In all the pain and shock over the shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, I forgot that the 4th of July is a very special day for me. It marked a dramatic change in my life. From September 1996 until that day in 1999, I spent a lot of time in homeless shelters because I was homeless. It was because of employers illegally practicing age discrimination. I found myself stuck in $8.00 US per hour exploitation jobs.

     In June of 1999, I went to the manager of the Glen Willows Apartment in San Jose, California. I rode my bike there. I did not have a car that ran. We "hit it off famously." I convinced him to rent me a two-bedroom apartment. He even cut the damage deposit from $800 US to $400 US. I signed the lease. My move-in date was set for July 4, 1999. There was one huge problem, I didn't have the $400 for the damage deposit. One of our readers, Rebecca Darr, arranged for an organization to give e a grant of $400 to pay the damage deposit.

      Here is a Facebook narrative from 6 years ago describing this moment in my life:

The 4th of July for me was a day that started with a huge hassle. In the dead of the night, a smoke detector went off because its battery had gone out. It made a shrill beeping noise. I had to take down three smoke detectors and do troubleshooting to find the one with the problem. It ruined my sleep. I was exhausted after that. I had my swim workout and drove Elena to work. I came home and was physically and mentally exhausted. I had some crackers and cheese with wine and rested for some hours. I reflected that 16 years ago I started the morning sleeping on a floor in a church in San Jose, California. I assembled all of my humble belongings and put them in the back of a pickup truck. Some staff member drove me to the Glen Willows apartment complex in the Willow Glen area of San Jose, California. I went to the apartment manager and got my key. The Inn Visions staff member helped me to load my meager goods into the two-bedroom apartment. All I had to sleep on was a sleeping bag but that was not a big deal. I didn't care. For the first time in a long time, I was not homeless. I had some hope and dignity in life. Part of the reason that I was there was the generosity of Rebecca Snyders Darr and her organization. They provided me with a $400 grant to pay the damage deposit. The following week I went back to a Catholic Church where I had slept on the floor. They gave me some nice free furniture. I got a truck to deliver it. Joao Santos later helped me to pick up a king-sized bed at a non-profit in San Jose, California. The bed would not fit in the elevator. We had to haul it up the stairs. I started out working two part-time telemarketing jobs and riding a bicycle. Three months later I started a job at Telewave, Inc that would last for 8 years. Almost 13 months later I met Elena. She came to live with me in that apartment in early February of 2001. Some weeks later we had our wedding ceremony in that apartment. I have never gone back to the world of homelessness. That is what is special about the 4th of July for me.

    Some of our readers including Andy and Latha Narain, Joao, Djenane Santos, and Marivi Briones were in my life on that momentous day.

    This country is always wracked with angst and self-doubt. My story is living proof that someone can absolutely "hit bottom" and come back up. In my humble opinion, the US is a wonderful country!