Meet the Jessee Brothers!
Meet Austin & Brandon!
Hi there we are the Jessee Brothers,
Our names are Austin and Brandon. We've always been super close brothers. We grew up together when we were younger, and have always helped each other out when we were down and out and experiencing homelessness. We struggled with getting in trouble a bit when we were growing up, so when we were old enough to move out on our own, we did. We had a hard time at first with getting a place. We both lived on the streets in Portland, and struggled to get on our feet. My brother ended up trying a few places in town through his mental health services, by staying at group homes, but struggled with what he called unruly roommates.
He finally got a place on Commerce, but he said it was a terrible place, and didn't help his mental health at all. The landlord from there wasn't willing to work with him after he had a mental health episode, due to all of his past trauma and not dealing with it, and ended up in jail. So unfortunately, he ended up losing his place. I had traveled 22 states, jumping trains, going from one place to another. I lived in Berkeley for about 3 years in a tent, but was tired of being homeless. I had finally came back to town and was couchsurfing.
Around the time my brother had his place on Commerce, I had a place too, but had to sell my SUV due to mechanical issues, so I lost my job in Woodland and became homeless again. During that week I was homeless, I started making phone calls and got a hold of CORE Health's Support Center, and they were able to get me in a bed in the men's overflow room at the Community House. When Brandon got out of jail, I had been in the Community House for about a week, and met up with him. I told him how I had gotten help from the Support Center, and we went over there, and they helped him get into the Community House too!
While we were living at the Community House, we both received mental health counselors, who were a huge help with our past trauma, and when we were getting on each other's nerves lol. Brandon was good at meeting with his case manager, who helped him with saving his money from social security every month, and keeping him on track with showing up to all of his appointments; And he loved hanging out with his peer support counselor who always made him laugh and feel better!
I worked with my case manager and employment specialist so I could get a job and get my budgeting going, and my employment specialist got me a job at Foster Farms. I started saving, and Brandon and I both worked with our housing specialist to get housed.
We are now living in a two-bedroom place together, and are doing great! It's the first time in a long time we've both felt at peace. We're both so thankful for Core Health and the Community House and all the things they offer. We've come so far, and couldn't have done it without them!
-The Jessee Brothers