Page 15 - San Diego Woman Military Coverage 2019

Story and Photo Provided
By Eva Starr
From Homeless to Hope: A Veteran’s Story

One in six of the more than 9,800 homeless individuals in San Diego tum, she finally said that’s enough and dropped me off at the California
County are military Veterans. Interfaith is a leading provider of Veter- Motel (now the Escondido Inn), and I lived there for a year.
an’s assistance programs in San Diego County, with a success rate for
employment and stability that is 22% higher than the national average. Eva: How did you transition from there?
I am about to share a story of one such Veteran, Tim.
Tim: I got a DUI in 1996 while I was working at the Artista Bistro, and
Eva: What was life like before you found Interfaith? then lost my job. From there I started working in the mall at the Nord-
strom Café while I was still homeless. Strung out on crystal meth one
Tim: My addictions started when I was around eight, my home life was day I broke my foot and ended up on crutches and lost that job. I was
violent, and my parents were divorcing. I was invited by an older cousin staying at the Armory, which used to be the homeless shelter where I
to go camping for the weekend, which is when I discovered beer and first found out about Interfaith. I’d go there in the morning for breakfast
marijuana. I got drunk and stoned and found out I liked that feeling of and hook up with the homeless and plan my day.
detachment. I left home when I was fourteen, never finished school,
and joined the Army when I was seventeen. Eva: Tell me a little more about life on the streets; is there a code of
ethics amongst you?
Eva: When you got out of the Army what did you do?
Tim: It’s all about survival, if somebody has something to help you get
Tim: I wandered around for quite a few years between Missouri and through your day and you have something they need, we look out for
Colorado, back and forth. I was in and out of jail and addicted to what- each other. It’s similar to a neighborhood watch. Someone is always
ever you had, heroin, marijuana, meth, you name it. watching your stuff and the code is “you don’t steal from your friends.”
Eva: In between all the roaming around did you ever settle down, get Eva: What about the people I see standing on street corners holding
married, children? signs “homeless, please help?”
Tim: Shortly after I got out of the Army I had gotten arrested for stealing Tim: That’s just plain lazy, you have to have a hustle.
the Mayor of Hallsburg, Missouri’s pickup truck. I was drinking Jack
Daniels, took the truck for a joy ride and when I got back parked it out- Eva: Isn’t that a hustle?
side of the Post Office. I got back to my cousins and realized I left my
backpack in the truck so went back to get it and the police were waiting Tim: No, I was always working the streets, looking through dumpsters,
for me. I was arrested and sent to Jail for sixteen months. for aluminum, plastic, or glass.
Eva: When (during this time) did the settling down occur? Eva: So you first found Interfaith in 1992 when you were going to
breakfast, when did you actually go into a program?
Tim: After I finished my incarceration, I still owed fines and was told I
could cancel them if I went to rehab at Boones County Hospital, where
I was born.

Eva: Was that where you met your wife; was she a nurse there?
Tim: No, she was also in the rehab center and we met during group.
We ended up getting married and things were OK for a while. We had
my daughter Shelby, but then ended up getting divorced and I headed
for California when Shelby was eighteen months.

Eva: What was in California?
Tim: My dad lived here so I got a job at Lake Wolford Café, lived in a
trailer park, and that’s when I discovered crystal meth.

Eva: What happened after you discovered crystal meth?

Tim: I don’t know, there are a lot of years I really don’t remember. I did
however go into rehab again in 1992 because of some intervention by
friends who introduced me to the Fellowship Center. That took hold for
about two years; I was working two jobs, at the Olive Garden and the
Metaphor Café. I was dong well at the Café, as the closing manager,
but ended up hanging with the clientele. I started going out with them
and lost my sobriety. (There’s a pause here, tears, choked up)

Eva: It’s OK, take your time.
Tim: Nancy had two young children, ages nine and eleven, we met at
the Metaphor Café. I asked her out to a Forrest Gump movie and we
just hit it off. We went everywhere together; Sedona, San Francisco,
and then my drinking got the better of me. After ultimatum after ultima-