SPOILER ALERT - tear jerker!
One of our volunteers was recently asked to attend a sobriety celebration as a guest speaker at the Men’s Star of Hope.
One of our volunteers was recently asked to attend a sobriety celebration as a guest speaker at the Men’s Star of Hope and, of course, our organization was thrilled and our volunteer addressed several hundred men and supporters of the program and told them a little bit about what our organization does and the resources that we have to help anyone that would like assistance.
Within 24 hours we had numerous people reaching out to us with their stories and most of the people we spoke with were looking for assistance with their resumes and employment placement. Our hearts were so full to find people who wanted nothing more than to get employed so that they get into their own apartment and pick up where they left off before they lost their jobs. Not a single person asked for cash or a hand out. They only asked for a hand up, which we were, and are, eager to provide.
That being said, one gentleman’s story stood out to us and we’d like to share it with you. Before you read his story below, grab a box of Kleenex and really think about how you would respond if this story was coming from a single mother, because single dads have a much tougher battle.
Here is his story in his words:
I've been trying to start a restaurant for years and finally got a broker to start an offering for it. I don't handle any of the money whatsoever.
I'm in this situation because I started a security company on the West coast and invested all of my savings, then while me and my children were moving to California, I was inquired upon then arrested for an out of state warrant that I knew nothing about. I wasn't convicted but I was held without bail for 100 days for extradition. It was my first time ever in jail (for other than a traffic ticket warrant 17-years ago). I lost our security guards and contracts.
Before I went to jail, I was a single custodial father. The mother of my sweet, young daughter had postpartum depression after birth so I had to raise my daughter predominantly alone from birth, along with my sons, until this year. We are all really close. My daughter’s mother has custody of her now. I’ve lost all of my savings because I’ve set up automatic payments to be debited from my account to support my children. They come first!
My daughter can only listen to my voice on her Vtech smart watch I got for her and she pretends to talk to me. She currently shares a bedroom with her mother at her grandma's house. She's waiting on me to get back on my feet so I can come get her so that we both feel safe and have our normal, happy lives together.
It worked very hard for a very long time trying to find a job. I was hired for Amazon (again) and USPS, but for the first time in my life my background has an arrest on it and they fired me.
The good news is that I have a great job now and I’m trying to save money to get an apartment so that I can get my kids back.
The bad news is that, having lost 40 pounds, I have very few clothes that fit, so it’s difficult to present myself as a professional.
If I can just get some clothes and some support moving into a bunk house so that I can work normal working hours (the shelters require you to check in at 4 pm if you want a bed and a shower), I can do the rest on my own.
All I want is to have my children back with me.
If you would like to donate clothing or make a small donation to purchase clothing for him or to help pay for a bunk house or public transportation, you can make a donation to our PayPal account using the email address directhope15@gmail.com.
$25 will pay for a week in a bunk house
$25 will also pay for a week of public transportation.
