When Father and Son Met
Jimmy had aged out of foster care and had become homeless. Jimmy needed the security of a roof, door and a bed.
When storm flooding had threatened the security of the home on Market Street, Jimmy joined a volunteer at a storm drain to clear out the trash and debris. He was barefoot and wearing shorts with no shirt. The water was fast and rising, almost up to his knees. When told to put on some long pants and shoes, he couldn’t leave the spot, clearing the drain with his bare hands and saying over and over, “I can’t lose this home. I can’t lose this home.”
After the flood, he began to settle into the routine of daily life. People came and went, some staying longer than others, all becoming friends.
An older man came to stay with us. He happened to have the same last name as Jimmy. He was a fairly quiet person. Other family members noticed a resemblance between Jimmy and this older man. They began to ask questions about birthdates and whereabouts. It was pieced together that this was actually Jimmy’s father, whom he had never met. (His mother had passed away.) They started as friends and became family. A little later they got their own home, with the help of their case workers.