Meet Juan!

Juan lived at the Community House with his family for the second time in 2023. Growing up, he did not have a mother to look up to and his father didn’t make things easy on them, selling their things to get money for drugs.

“I grew up homeless a majority of my life. I’ve lived in a trailer park, I’ve lived in a campsite, I’ve lived on the street, I’ve lived in a car, I’ve lived…in different places. It was kind of hard, and it kind of messed up my mental health and it kind of messed up my life. But the way I see it is, things happen for a reason… It’s not the best story to talk about, but, you know, it’s just how we grew up.”

The first time that Juan lived at Community House, in 2019, the family moved in on his birthday. After that didn’t work out due to his father’s ongoing drug use, the family moved around and their situation (and his mental health) got worse and worse. Luckily, Juan was able to begin receiving behavioral health support through CORE Health, who met with him at his school starting in middle school.

While his father was exited from the shelter, Juan, who turned 18 this year, and his younger brother were allowed to stay at the shelter on their own. During this time, our case managers and support services teams worked to help Juan and Antonio create a support network and get connected with programs to help support them as they transition into their lives as independent young adults.  

“Nothing in my life was just based on normality. Just recently I graduated from my high school, graduating class of 2024. Still homeless, but still pushing forward. Something my dad couldn’t do, something my mom couldn’t do, especially something my family couldn’t do. But now I know where I push myself towards. I’m pushing myself towards becoming a Nurse, pushing myself forward. I got my own apartment, it was just, you know, a plus from being homeless again. Especially since I don’t want that happening again, especially now having my younger brother in my sight. It’s something that I don’t wish to happen again. I’m pushing for it to never happen again.”

Now, Juan has an apartment, where he and his brother live, and he is pursuing a career in nursing.