David
Reclaiming His Life
When David moved almost an hour away from Rochester to his girlfriend’s home, he was looking forward to their life together, and to their baby on the way. It turned out to be a chaotic household with toxic extended-family relationships. The situation deteriorated even more after his son was born and David was eventually forced to leave.
“It was such a painful time for me when I had to leave my son. I had nothing and was living outside, and I knew I needed to get back to Rochester,” David said.
A phone call to a friend at the House of Mercy, a Rochester shelter for the homeless, resulted in a bus ticket back home that night, and David’s first steps to getting his son back. But then he contracted COVID-19, which led to a three and a half month stay in the hospital, including one month in a coma.
“When I woke up, I had one thought in my mind: My son. I wanted to see him, but I didn’t want him to see me that way,” David said. He couldn’t walk and was dependent on an oxygen tank. Intensive physical therapy helped him get his strength back and restore his lung capacity, and he walked out of the hospital upon his discharge.
“A lot of people would give up, but I left the hospital ready to do what I needed to do to get back my son,” David said.
He returned to the House of Mercy, and over the next six months got a job and signed up for the PCHO housing program. He connected with Joyce, a PCHO Housing Stability Coordinator,
and together they researched ideal neighborhoods and apartments. The hardest part of the process, he said, was being away from his son.
“Joyce found three places and took me to view them, and the one I chose had a good neighborhood community. There’s shopping and eating close by, and I knew I could raise my son here,” David said.
Establishing a stable home was key to his petitioning the court for custody of his son, which he did successfully one year after moving in. Now their days are school for his son, work for David, and time together. It’s everything David says he set out to do with this part of his life.
“I have a home, a job, and my son. I get to see him every day, play ball with him, raise him and be the type of family for him that I didn’t have,” David said. His long-term goal is to see his son thrive and be a parent to his own child someday.
David credits ‘laser focus’ for reclaiming his life.
“If you have your mind set on something, put everything else aside. There will be obstacles and times when you want to give up but set your mind to it and don’t quit. I wanted my son with me, so I got up every day and did what I needed to do to get back with him. He is the reason I never quit.”