For close to four years there wasn’t one day when Jessie could fiddle around in his pocket and find his house key. He couldn’t find his key because he didn’t have that key. Not only was Jessie homeless, but Jessie was constantly on the move. In and out of shelters, under bridges, on the riverfront, or under highway ducts. Wherever he could find a warm and relatively safe space, that is where he would rest his head at night. No key needed. Just strength, resilience, and determination.
Journey Home identified Jessie through our database of those who are experiencing chronic homelessness. Once he was identified, we were tasked with locating him. Sounds easy? It wasn’t. Jessie was transient. He was the definition of transient. It took nearly seven weeks to locate Jessie. Through the efforts and persistence of Journey Home and Blue Hills Civic Association, Jessie was finally located. Finding Jessie was just the first step of the process. The next hill to climb was helping him obtain all of the documents he needed for housing. Working together and remaining in constant communication, we were able to help him secure all of the necessary documents. Moving day was in sight.
And then one day it happened. Jessie woke up on a warm morning in late May, got dressed, and put his keys in his pocket. He had found his way home. It took a lot of people working together, it took Jessie being committed to the process, and it took streamlined system changes to make this all possible. We are thrilled to know that Jessie is fiddling around in his pocket today and in that pocket he has found a key, a key to his new home. Congratulations, Jessie!