After Spending Many Years Living on the Streets, Jason is Looking to Upgrade His Life

After Spending Many Years Living on the Streets, Jason is Looking to Upgrade His Life

Jason grew up in Whittier, California in a stable home until his parents divorced after 17 years of marriage. Jason and his brother played little league baseball and went on family camping trips. He had behavioral problems through middle school and high school. He hung out with the wrong crowd and started experimenting with drugs. “I had more jobs than I am years old,” recalled Jason. “I never found anything that I set my mind on.”

Jason was living like a recluse, with long seasons of homelessness. Being homeless for the past nine years has taken its toll on him. He showed up at the hospital with a wound that had not healed in 3 months and blood clots. The hospital staff told Jason about Harbor Care and showed him pictures of the facility. “The hospital was nice. I had a bed and a flatscreen TV. I was comfortable, but I knew I couldn’t stay there. It was either go back to the street or do something good for myself; go somewhere where people care. At Harbor Care I got my own bed and flatscreen TV with headphones, three homecooked meals a day. This was way better than what I was getting on the street,” said Jason.

Sometimes Jason would forget to take his medications, so having a care team to remind him to take his medicine was a relief. “The staff here genuinely cares about you,” says Jason. We were able to help Jason through our onsite health clinic to get some of his teeth replaced and connect him to a primary care doctor.

As Jason reflects on his life, he has regrets for the choices he has made. “I was not working, doing drugs. I was doing whatever felt good at the time. I feel like it’s been a waste of life; but it has enabled me to figure out that I want to get off the streets,” says Jason. He’s glad he made it to Harbor Care. “This is a great place to come if you are trying to get to know yourself, fix yourself, upgrade yourself, make yourself whole again,” says Jason with a grateful smile.

Jason credits his faith in God for the desire to change his life. He attends church in Whittier and has been grateful for the love and acceptance he has felt from his church family. Jason is currently focused on taking care of his health and finding a job in hopes of never returning to the streets.