Guest Profile

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I've pretty much worked my whole life, you know, since the time I was about 15. I’m 61 now. It’s only been the last year or so that I haven’t been able to work. And I’ve been homeless off and on for 10 years, about 11 years. Last year I was sleeping outside, and I ended up getting some frostbite on my feet. I had all of my toes amputated off of my left foot and some damage to the bottom of my right foot. I’ve never had an injury take so long to heal. It’s been over a year and yet the wound persists. Before I was here (RW), wherever I was, changing the dressing was impossible. Infection has been a big worry for me. (Living on the street) was a challenge because of the fact that I had nowhere safe to keep my dressing supplies. This is where RecoveryWorks has truly been a godsend for me, I’m serious when I say that. You know, everyone that works here… the love, respect and helpfulness… everyone’s been so supportive.”

“I was working in sales when I became homeless. It was when the banks had imploded, there were so many problems in the economy, and being in sales I was very adversely affected by that. You know, because it was car sales. You just couldn’t find a lender without huge stipulations. In the last 10 years, I’ve gotten some temporary jobs. Some out of the day labor places. Which is hit or miss, sometimes you get work, sometimes they just say they don’t have anything. And between the banks, bad luck… it comes together for the perfect storm. It snowballs. What starts off as an inconvenience turns into a big problem. And there’s shame to it. No one wants to come out and say I’m homeless. It’s not something you wear a badge of honor about. Because nobody chooses to be homeless, not in my experience.”