July 2021 Newsletter

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Finding Home

Nate was off to a good start in life. He did well in high school, then worked hard to receive an EMT-3 Certification, Intermediate Emergency Medical Technician. He worked for two years as a paramedic. Nate has a girlfriend and a young child. Then something went wrong. While visiting family members, one of them hit his own girlfriend with a single slap to her head. Nate’s involvement in mixed martial arts (otherwise known as cage fighting) caused an instinctive reaction. It was chivalry to protect a woman, but wrong to cause harm. Nate spent some time in jail, then lost his job and EMT Certification. He now has a record that opened a Child Protective Services case and keeps him from seeing his daughter. It makes finding employment very difficult. So he is homeless and living at the Mission. He has completed his required anger management classes and is working on getting his record expunged, that is the removal of the event from his background. It takes time and proof of a changed life.

After being here for a couple of weeks staying in our Dormitory, Nate moved into our Program that has separate living areas with greater accommodations. He learned how to cook from our staff Kitchen Supervisor. He said, “The Program helped me a lot, gave me a sense of rebuilding and purpose. This time is not just wasted. It helped me stay out of my mind, away from negative thoughts regarding my situation.”

During this time, he took his court mandated classes and looked for a job. He used a very popular online employment service. Their applications ask standard questions about having a record and being able to pass a background check. In the midst of an abundance of “help wanted” signs and a good resume, he was shunned from being hired. A fast food manager directly told him that he would rather hire a 16-year- old high school student than a young man with a record. Nate’s break happened when he walked into a convenience store that he frequented and saw a newly placed “help wanted” sign. He inquired to discover that their main concern was that he not have a record of theft. Now he has a job working more than 40 hours a week and receiving overtime. He is on the Mission waiting list to rent a Transitional Housing room. He is sticking to his plan, working his way back home.

Nate was finding hope in an unforgiving world, even from an unexpected source. He confesses a belief in God, but not in being a Christian. He said, “I don’t mind chapel. I learned that Jesus is forgiving, kind. There is a calming feeling. I have never been to church in my life. This is not such a bad place, the world. There actually are good people out there, because everybody, the media, is so negative. Chapel is so positive and I want more of them.”