Recently, a Life Skills Leader shared her journey with someone who joined the Life Skills Program.
“Dallas called in January while living in his truck.
He parks in various places in Grandville and sometimes rents hotel rooms.
His boss told him to call Love Your Neighbor because we could help. Her family had been helped by Love years ago.
Dallas used to get SSI for his “reading disability,” but started making too much and preferred working. Food stamps were also not an option, because again, he now made too much. Most of his check went to paying for his hotel room. And he frequently went without food and would run out of gas. Work was cutting his hours due to the slow season.
His 3 kids lived with their mom and he desired to improve his relationship with them. This felt impossible with no place to live, no money for gas, or food.
While in the Life Skills Program there were many ups and downs. He admittedly did not trust Love enough to be fully honest about his life and finances. He was matched with a Peer Support that seemed to be a good fit. He moved in with his brother and got a higher paying job with steady hours. His car needed expensive repairs which Love was able to help with.
But there continued to be obstacles. Dallas’ car wasn’t insured or registered. His license was suspended and he needed to pay court fees. He tried to set goals to save the money but something always came up. His new job hours meant he missed Life Skills class often. He talked about getting his GED and finding an apartment, but there was always a reason why applications weren’t filled out.
It became clear after a few months that we were not getting the truth about where money was going. Dallas frequently came to Life Skills without the financial forms completed and we had to exit him from the Program because he wasn’t meeting program criteria.
He texted me a few times in the weeks after this and was in a dark space. I found out he was back living in his truck. Very discouraged about his prospects as a grown man with no place to live, a truck that needed more repairs than it’s worth, cannot read, and no relationships with his kids.
About a month later he texted me again. “I just want to say I really appreciate all your guys’ help. I really did put the program to work. Like I said, I wasn’t doing it at first but I still made it work after I got kicked out of the program. I live in Muskegon now. I’m about to buy a house. I’ll send pictures once I get the keys.”
A month later he sent me pictures of his new house.
A month after that he sent me pictures of his new vehicle with plates! (He let me know he has insurance).
“I’m sorry I could not get it together when I was there but I appreciate everybody for getting me on the right path. My next step is to work on getting my GED.”
When I asked him to fill me in on what changed after he left the program, he replied,
“I stopped smoking weed, stopped drinking. I stayed with my son and got my crap together. I really thought about you guys whenever I needed a drink- ‘what would you guys think and what would my kids think about me?’ I got a hold of a friend up here in Muskegon. They told me about a job that was paying $20 an hour. I’ve been here ever since. I got my credit score up and have been working hard and am about to lease another vehicle. God is good. As long as you let Him in and actually truly accept him as your Lord Jesus Christ Savior and wake up every morning… no, I’m blessed by the best.”
Not every story looks the same, and not all stories end with the success story we pictured, but Dallas’ story is a reminder that we don’t always know the seeds we plant when we walk with others.
We’ll be sharing 40 stories of transformation leading up to our 40th Celebration Block Party on September 24th. Please join us!