Kofi had been homeless for almost a 2 years when our outreach team encountered him in downtown Houston where he slept in a tent under a freeway. He was really chatty and upbeat. He received our “Bless Bags” which contains non-perishable foods, everyday essentials and a packet containing shelters and other emergency help information.
Kofi has landed on the streets after a 1 year stay in the Huntsville penitentiary for knowingly operating another individual’s vehicle without the owner’s consent. He still possessed keys to his ex-girlfriends vehicle and decided to take it for a joy-ride. The ex-girlfriend reported the vehicle stolen, and he was arrested. Although his ex dropped the charges, the D.A. decided to charge him with a state jail felony because he was still on probation at the time of the event.
His journey began with a missed chance on a college scholarship because his foster mother emotionally manipulated him by making him feel guilty about leaving her alone. He rejected the one-of-a-kind opportunity offered by the person who saved him from a tumultuous home where his mother was drug-dependent.
He elected to enroll in a college close by to aid his foster mother, who had type 2 diabetes and had a foot amputation. For nearly a year, he was at her constant disposal, chauffeuring her to medical appointments, picking up medications, making hospital trips, grocery shopping, and providing financial assistance through his job as a delivery driver.
Only when Kofi prioritized his social life with dating and hanging out with friends did she launch into a ceaseless campaign of fury, branding him as unappreciative and undeserving of success, and subsequently evicting him from the house without prior notice.
Kofi elaborates on his uncertainty regarding the cause of his expulsion, whether it was because of his resistance to being at her disposal or the allocation of an extra $500 monthly to his foster parent for accommodating him while he attended school. Either way, he expressed the deep hurt caused from rejection of the people who were supposed to love him.
He sacrificed the opportunity to follow his dreams and explore the world. Only to receive more scorn and mistreatment. This rebuff and mortification led to immoderate drinking and eventually to substance abuse. He withdrew from school, got ended from his employment, and lost his means of transportation. He articulated he had reached a state of apathy and was in a depressive and suicidal disposition.
When the question was posed to him, how are you so happy and filled with joy? He says he decided to pull himself out of the gutter by visualizing the life that was still obtainable for him. The dream that never completely faded.
“It is no surprise to me you have arrived with food and resources. I expected divine intervention as I started viewing myself through the lens of God and surrendered to Him, strengthening my faith.”
Kofi reports being on a waitlist for multiple shelters for long-term occupants that offer counseling, trade skills and college resources with housing placement.
Although he led us through an emotional life journey, he maintained a perpetual smile and made comical jokes. The proximity to this kind of faith brightened our day and contagious.
We agreed to maintain communication and help him in his journey to dream again.
He says that it is not a surprise that Silent rescue arrived which mean it is many people waiting for you to show up with your kindness
Rejection causes so much destruction but love conquers it all.
Everybody have a story that promotes where they are standing now but all is never lost. I love the faith this young man has. Foster parents are not always a God send but there is always someone there to help us.