Almost two years ago I ran into a guy I've known since high school. We were both at a friends house and after a while he started explaining how he's had to live. I won't mention his name but he said that for a past few years off an on he's actually had to sleep in a homemade wooden shack he made out in the woods somewhere around our town. He couldn't live with his family anymore and was barely out of highschool. After bouncing around from place to place there eventually became a time where he had no where to go. I'm not sure where he got the supplies but he ended up getting some plywood and making a make-shift shack. With a tarp on top. This is how he spent years living.
He told of us how he could hear the coyotes at night and how scary it was out there at times. At the time he told us, it was told in a light hearted manner, he was laughing about the whole situation and so did everyone else. Sometime not so long ago he made his way down to the cities and got emergency housing help from the state. It was nearly impossible for him to finally recieve help. The processes take time and a bunch of work, which was something that was hard. Depression and other issues made it hard to focus and find the help.
A couple months ago one of my coworks told me that they saw him on the news which shocked me. It turns out that he was advocating for homeless people at the courthouse, trying to get more awareness on the seemingly forgotten issue. He spoke to the city about how he was freezing one winter night where it was -20 below and that he was shivering so hard he couldn't sleep.
It was insane for me to see this man on the news for anything, let alone something as important and lifechanging as that. He is one example of now matter how low you fall, how trivial trying seems, that change is always around the corner if you don't give up. He prevailed through one of the worst sitautions a person can endure and is now working two jobs and advocating to help others.