Sometimes All It Takes....

“Dan” showed up outside our door a few weeks ago. He seemed confident in a quiet and polite sort of way. He explained that he had recently become homeless and was hoping for some warm clothes and maybe an emergency no-cook food bag. Dan has deep family roots in this area and grew up on the Plateau. Unfortunately, any family he had left was not in a position to help him be his best, which is what he was desperately trying to be. Covid was making it much harder, with many service jobs unavailable, he was finding it difficult to learn of any places that were hiring. When we tried to schedule Dan for case management over the phone, we learned he didn’t have one; he literally only had the clothes on his back. Our Case Manager worked out a private, outdoor place where they could meet and social distance with masks and they began Dan’s journey of crisis recovery. Dan was very motivated and truly just needed a little hand up and someone to listen. We were able to get him some work clothing and, because applying for jobs means you have to have a contact number, we helped him with a prepaid cell phone. Dan explained, “I’m not afraid of hard work. I’ve worked hard all my life. I just need the opportunity.” Our case manager went through our jobs notebook with Dan and they found a few good prospects. Dan contacted all of them and was rewarded with two interviews! We are happy to report that Dan landed one of those jobs and is on his way to independence once again! Sometimes all it takes is $30 and a listening ear to change a life.