Theo was struggling in his traditional high school. He was experiencing severe social anxiety and sensory issues. His mental health issues were making attending school difficult, and led to him eventually dropping out of school during his tenth grade year. Theo still wanted to graduate from high school, so he joined the Open Doors program. [...]
“At times it can be difficult to be a champion for someone who doesn’t see it for themselves and some people don’t have any support,” Julie shares. “But, when you see people have success and know it will have lasting effects on their whole family, including their children, it’s all worth it.” As MSC’s Employment [...]
“Volunteering makes me happy,” shares Chang. Even though he’s retired, 73-year-old Chang continues to work almost full-time; however, it’s not a paid position. Chang is a valued volunteer in MSC’s food bank. You can usually find him at the check-out station during food bank open hours, but he also helps with sorting, stocking, and other [...]
“I grew up in shelters. It was really hard and stressful and I didn’t want to follow the same path with my kids. I didn’t ever picture myself being homeless when I grew up,” shares 35-year-old Janel. Janel is mom to a 17-year old boy, 15 and 7-year old girls, and has another on the [...]
“I’m a proud father with my kids in college,” Jermaine shares, “but you know what? They told me they are proud of me for making this change in my life.” He is the father of five, 2 boys and 3 girls, ages 18-22 years. Jermaine found himself homeless after his grandmother passed away and he [...]
Skyler is a real-life superhero and goes by SkyMan. He feels a strong sense of serving his community through inspiration and peer support. Skyler’s sense of purpose as a real-life superhero and duty to help others is linked to the years he has spent struggling with sobriety and behavioral health issues. At 35 years old, [...]
“MSC helped us a lot and is still helping us. They got us a home. Our MSC case manager is always the first person I call,” shared Takisha. In August 2018, Takisha’s family lost their apartment home to a fire. The fire started in another unit, but caused significant damage to the building. Takisha and [...]
“I had to fight to live,” shares Ann.* At 27 years old, Ann left Honduras and immigrated to the United States to be with her husband. She left behind family, including several children. She also left behind years of abuse at the hands of her previous husband. Unfortunately, Ann found herself in a similar abusive [...]
At 33 years of age, Alicia is focusing on getting her life back on track. Over the last several years, she has struggled with substance abuse issues, an abusive former partner, and the loss of custody of her two children, Justin and Kaylynn. Losing custody of her children sent Alicia spiraling out of control. She [...]
“I was running from my grief,” says Cynthia. Cynthia is a single parent to 13-year-old twin girls and also a daughter in college. Just over five years ago, Cynthia lost two other children and her husband in a tragic accident. She was struggling staying where she had been living with them, and decided to move [...]
