“Anything Worth Having You Have To Work For”

These are the words that LaMar lives by and tells his teenage daughter.

LaMar is an intelligent man with a wonderful sense of humor who looks younger than his 60 years. He has lived a hard life and his teenage daughter has seen and experienced things no child should ever have to go through.

At the age of 23 LaMar got married and his wife introduced him to marijuana. LaMar became a heavy marijuana smoker, branched out to other drugs and was a crack addict for approximately 30 years. With the initial support of AA and NA, ridding himself of people that were part of his “addict” life, removing himself from situations that would trigger his abuse of drugs, and his strong faith in God, he finally became drug free.

LaMar was living in a shelter when he received a call from DCFS. His daughter had to leave an abusive situation in her mother’s home and LaMar needed to take care of her. The shelter did not take children and he needed to find a home. The shelter he was at contacted Renaissance Social Services (RSSI).

LaMar feels that through the grace of God and by becoming drug free he was ready to work with RSSI and take care of his daughter. According to LaMar, first you need to focus on yourself to stay clean; work on your environment and your addiction to be able to move on. For himself and his daughter plus his strong belief in God he stays drug free. LaMar credits RSSI with giving him peace of mind, security, a nice, clean two bedroom apartment and a wonderful neighborhood that he and his daughter have lived in for over two years. He feels that his case manager is more of a friend. “The more my case manager knows me, the better they can guide and assist me.” said LaMar. His health has also improved; he no longer suffers from constant headaches and high blood pressure, plus he has more energy. He feels physically, mentally and spiritually healthy.

With his fierce determination and sense of who he is the future for LaMar and his daughter looks bright and promising.

"A Modest Man"

“Abraham*” does not fit the stereotype of what many of us think of when you say “chronically homeless.” Some may think of a person you see on the street wearing multiple layers of clothing, talking to them self, begging for money, pushing a shopping cart, with no desire to turn their life around. On the contrary, Abraham is clean shaven, nicely dressed, well spoken, well mannered and intelligent. He also breaks the stereotype that the homeless are jobless, without skills and no work history. Abraham worked for many years in the carpentry construction industry but through a series of unfortunate occurrences found himself living in his van. As he said, “You don’t have to be poor; many people from all walks of life can become homeless.”

Abraham calls his story one of recovery and he dedicates it to the people and agencies that have supported him. Marco, Glenn, and Michael from RSSI; Colleen, Nancy and Vanessa from Wicker Park Place, and Lena and staff from Thresholds Peer Success. Abraham believes, “Without them, their support, I would not be sitting here. They saved my life.” He forgets—or is it modesty— that he was the one who accepted the help, chose to listen, and did the work needed to get his life back on track. There were some stumbling blocks along the way, but with the acceptance of the support given to him, he picked himself up and moved forward.

Abraham was working in carpentry construction when a steel bar fell on his head, almost knocking him out. As standard procedure he filed a workman’s compensation claim. The company did not approve and wanted him to drop the case, pressure from them mounted daily and Abraham started to feel depressed. He turned to alcohol to numb this depression and then got a DUI. This added to his depression.  Abraham ended up losing his job and was black balled in the carpentry construction field. He decided to start his own business. During this time his mother Theresa became ill with cancer. Being a caring and giving person he did not think twice about moving in with her and became her primary caretaker, putting his business on hold. He cooked, cleaned, gave personal care and took her to her appointments also. When she entered the hospital he made a chair into his bed, he hardly left her side. Abraham did the same when she went to a nursing home. He fondly recalls these times, though sad and painful, as quality time with his mother that had joyous moments as well. She was dependant on him, and he on her. When she finally passed away in his arms he had been taking care of his mother, full-time, with family support, for approximately 1.5 years. 

Money ran out by this time, the economy was bad and Abraham couldn’t find work. He fell gravely ill and had to have emergency surgery. The healing process was slow and made even more difficult in that he was now living in his van. During this period of depression and despair he found Thresholds Peer Success. He was diagnosed with chronic depression and anxiety.

In January, Peer Success introduced Abraham to RSSI. Through RSSI’s Chronic Homeless Initiative he obtained his own apartment and access to on-site case management services through Marco, his primary case manager, and the rest of RSSI’s staff members. “Not only does Marco help me, I also consider him a friend.” After much work, Abraham now realizes that he needs to stay on his medication for his mental health issues, an important element in maintaining his stability. The combination of RSSI’s services, Peer Success and a grief support group helps him to feel stronger each day. As he heals physically he is also healing mentally and spiritually.

Today, Abraham wants to give back by giving other program participants a helping hand whenever he can. “I know that the staff is overwhelmed and overworked, and there isn’t enough funding for more staff, I want to help and volunteer any way I can.” Abraham now looks forward to each day and his future. For all that life has thrown his way; he is an inspiration to those around him. He offers one of the best gifts anyone can give - hope.

Post Script: “Thank you God! Gift of Life. Special thoughts and prayers to my mother, father and family.” Abraham.

*Not his real name.