I’m Home, Now What?

This program has been a Godsend to me. I grew up from childhood here in Newark Ohio, Licking County. My father, his father, and his father’s father before him, were all residents of Licking County. My great grandfather worked for the B&O Railroad, my grandfather served in the Navy and went on to serve the community working for and retiring form the Newark Police Department, and my father after serving in the Navy worked for Rockwell International and later the Ohio Power Company. I too served in the Navy before setting out in the world to make a life for myself, and after living in several places across the country, decided last year to come homme to Newark because my health had become bad, I was fighting addiction issues, and felt the pull of my roots to come home and put my health and mental issues first to regain control of my life and sanity.

The Licking County Coalition for Housing came to the aid of a very broken and homeless me, first through the Veterans Administration (Supportive Services for Veteran Families) as a liaison for homeless veterans and then transferring me into the program for more continuous and permanent housing (Permanent Supportive Housing) while I am in the process of acquiring my Social Security benefits. The helped me by paying my fell rent and utilities, removing the worry of where I was going to live and how I was going to survive without dime-one when I came home.

LCCH supported me financially, as well as offering support for my mental and addiction issues- encouraging me to address these issues and to continue to seek the help I so desperately needed in all areas of a life broken and hopeless. In my opinion, they literally saved my life, for without them I would surely be on the street and would have returned to addiction just to alleviate the disparity of suffering such a life. The people that have helped me the most, Tim Binckley and Mandy Weaver, understood my needs and without any judgement have worked very hard with me to provide me with the means to come home and finally find some much-needed direction to my life. I am and will remain eternally grateful to them and for this program.